


Stolen

by BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Peter Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Derek Hale, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Stiles Stilinski, Beta Derek Hale, Derek Hale is a Softie, Does snark count as flirting?, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Good Alpha Peter Hale, Implied/Referenced Character Death, It does if you're Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Mechanic Derek Hale, Non-Evil Peter Hale, Werewolf Derek, Werewolf Reveal, it's basically just awkward, lots of Derek flirting, or trying to anyway, well apart from the Hale family but that follows canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-05-28 16:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial/pseuds/BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial
Summary: '‘Why’ve you still got this hunk of junk? I’d’ve scrapped it a long time ago, it’s basically held together with fucking tape.’‘Yeah, well,’ Stiles said, shrugging. He didn’t really like talking about Roscoe, it always made him sad.‘Nah, go on, tell me why you’ve kept such a crappy car for so long,’ The Gorgeous Asshole laughed, leaning over the engine and poking around.‘It was my mum’s,’ Stiles said quietly, his voice catching in his throat. ‘She left it to me when she –’He stopped. The other guy stood up sharply, almost hitting his head on the bonnet above him.‘Fuck,’ he said, his voice low and thick.‘What?’ Stiles snapped, ‘Now I’m just the loser with a crappy car and a dead mom. Yeah, hilarious.’'When Roscoe starts making funny noises, Stiles take him to the garage to get fixed. But when he gets there he gets far more than he bargained for, like a brand new mechanic who looks like he just stepped out of Stiles' most intimate daydreams and might actually maybe be flirting with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first piece for Teen Wolf so I hope the characters are okay and in character enough, Derek is so hard to write, like what is that boy thinking?? Ever??
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The jeep’s engine stuttered again, and Stiles stroked the steering wheel lovingly.

‘Come on baby, don’t die on me,’ he whispered, trying to spot somewhere that he could pull in on the side of the road. ‘Roscoe, honey, come on, we’ve had a good run of it, don’t die on me now.’

The whole jeep shuddered as one of the front wheels caught the edge of a pothole on the empty road. Stiles swore under his breath as he looked desperately out the hole where the window should have been. It was starting to get dark and he was miles away from home, the road he was on was right on the border of the woods. His father was always telling him to be careful around them, that you never knew what could be in there. Stiles had laughed and made a joke about werewolves hiding in the trees, but his father had just raised his eyebrow at him and shook his head. It was at times like that that Stiles was reminded of the things his father had seen as the sheriff. Beacon Hills wasn’t a big town, but it had had more than its fair share of violent crime.

Stiles was shocked from his memories by a sound coming from the woods. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched at the steering wheel.

‘Come on Roscoe, just get me home and then tomorrow, I’ll take you to the garage,’ he said, his nails digging into the wheel, ‘The nice one where the guy always says how pretty we both are. I think he’s creepy, but I know you like the attention.’

The jeep juddered back to life and Stiles thanked his lucky stars and drove back carefully. There were a few moments where he thought he was going to lose him, but Roscoe managed to stay strong and keep going.

He pulled the jeep onto the driveway and ducked into the house, trying – and failing – to avoid his father.

‘Stiles?’ the sheriff’s voice came from the living room. Stiles poked his head in and waved.

‘Hey dad.’

‘You’re home late.’

‘I’m also eighteen.’

‘I know,’ the sheriff replied, ‘But you’re also late.’

‘Roscoe was being temperamental,’ Stiles said, walking into the living room and flopping into the armchair opposite his father, throwing his legs over the arm and leaning backwards.

‘I’m gonna take him to the garage tomorrow.’

‘Jerry’s?’

Stiles shook his head.

‘Peter’s. I promised Roscoe.’

‘You do realise that Roscoe’s a car, right? And probably wouldn’t know, or care?’ the sheriff laughed, taking a swig of his beer and turning back to the baseball game he’d been watching.

Stiles flung his arm over his eyes and pretended to faint dramatically.

‘Dad!’ he cried, ‘How could you say such a thing? Roscoe is my baby and I love him!’

The sheriff laughed again and batted at Stiles’ foot where it was dangling over the arm of the chair, ‘Shut up and let me watch the game, alright?’

Stiles huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting, ‘Fine.’

***

Stiles pulled the jeep into the garage on the edge of town, glancing at the sign and grinning. It was called _Peter’s Tyres & Lube_ and had always sounded vaguely dirty to him. Peter was weird and kind of creepy and just mysterious enough that no one bothered asking him too many questions. But he was a damn good mechanic and he always told Roscoe that he was pretty. If he also always told Stiles that he was pretty too, then that was nobody’s business but his own – even if it did kind of creep him out. Why did he have to be creepy and a little bit too old? Why couldn’t he be young and fit and gorgeous and –

Stiles’ brain went quiet suddenly as he caught sight of a guy leant over the front of the car in front of him. He couldn’t see much more than the guy’s ass in his jeans, but it was enough to shut his brain up for a second.

‘Holy _shit_ ,’ he whispered, stopping the car and just sat staring from the driver’s seat. ‘A guy kind of like _that_ , I guess.’

The guy pulled himself away from the engine a few minutes later, straightening up and running a large hand through dark hair.

‘Holy _shit_ ,’ Stiles whispered again as more of the guy was revealed to him. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and his shoulder-to-waist ratio was like Captain America-levels of perfect. The white tank top he was wearing was pulled taut across his back and the muscles in his arms stretched as he reached them up above his head.

He turned towards the jeep and raised one of his – frankly ridiculous – eyebrows. Stiles shoved at the door and basically fell out of the jeep, stumbling a few steps before catching himself on the bonnet.

‘Hi,’ he said breathlessly. He could be smooth, _dammit_ , just not in front of guys who looked like they had just stepped out of a fucking GQ magazine – or perhaps something much dirtier. _Head out of the gutter, man_ , Stiles thought to himself, shaking his head to clear it.

He tried again, ‘Hi, I rang this morning, said that my jeep was making funny noises and kept cutting out on me? I spoke to Peter? He said that it was cool to bring it in? My name’s Stiles, if you need to check for an appointment. Stiles Stilinski, I can spell it for you if you need me to.’

‘No,’ Tall, Dark and Brooding said, wiping his hands on the cloth tucked into the waistband of his sinfully tight jeans. Stiles’ eyes followed the movement before he realised what he was doing and looked up sharply. The other guy’s eyebrow was raised again. _It’s a very expressive eyebrow_ , Stiles thought, _Maybe that’s why he hardly speaks, his eyebrows do all the talking for him so he doesn’t have to._

‘What’s wrong with it?’ the Big Guy asked shortly, waving his hand in the direction of the jeep. Stiles’ own eyebrow raised – _yeah, take that Mr Eyebrows! The rest of us have eyebrows that we can use too!_ Stiles thought triumphantly.

‘I don’t know, that’s why I came to a garage. To get whatever is broken fixed,’ he replied, ‘Not for the scintillating conversation, thank god.’

The Possible Serial Killer glared hard at him and Stiles tried to glare back. He was sure that someone that looked like his guy was probably used to people shying away when he glared at them, but Stiles had never had very good self-preservation instincts. His father used to tell him that they’d get him in trouble, but he’s survived this long, so he doesn’t think he’s doing too badly.

‘Fine,’ the other guy replied, walking towards Roscoe and popping the hood. He glanced inside and snorted. ‘Why’ve you still got this hunk of junk? I’d’ve scrapped it a long time ago, it’s basically held together with fucking tape.’

‘Yeah, well,’ Stiles said, shrugging. He didn’t really like talking about Roscoe, it always made him sad.

‘Nah, go on, tell me why you’ve kept such a crappy car for so long,’ The Gorgeous Asshole laughed, leaning over the engine and poking around.

‘It was my mum’s,’ Stiles said quietly, his voice catching in his throat. ‘She left it to me when she –’

He stopped.

The other guy stood up sharply, almost hitting his head on the bonnet above him.

‘Fuck,’ he said, his voice low and thick.

‘What?’ Stiles snapped, ‘Now I’m just the loser with a crappy car _and_ a dead mom. Yeah, that's hilarious.’

‘No, oh god, that’s not what I – I mean, I’m so sorry. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have –’

‘Wouldn’t have what?’ Stiles said, he was pissed off now, he hated it when people pitied him. No one knew what it was like, but everyone liked to pretend that they did. ‘Wouldn’t have been such a massive dick?’

‘Yeah,’ the other guy replied, ‘Exactly that. I understand, my car used to belong to my sister. I got it when she – when she died. And before that it was my dad’s.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Stiles said, running his hand through his hair.

‘It’s okay,’ the mechanic replied, ‘Just, I get loss, trust me.’

‘Yeah?’ Stiles leant against the side of the jeep and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

‘Yeah. I’m Derek,’ the other guy – Derek – said, ‘Derek Hale.’

The name was familiar to Stiles, but he wasn’t sure why. Was it something from school? Or something that he’d read in one of the files he’d _‘borrowed’_ from his father’s desk? _Hale,_ he thought, _It really was familiar, there had to be something, there just had –_

‘Oh fucking hell,’ he said, ‘I’m so sorry. You’re _that_ Derek Hale.’

‘Oh yeah, _that_ guy, the one whose whole family died in a fire,’ Derek said sharply, ‘Yeah, I’m _that_ Derek Hale.’

     ‘I’m sorry,’ Stiles said, running his hand through his hair again and squeezing the back of his neck. He was just shocked because that the photos of Derek Hale that Stiles had seen in the incident folder that he’d seen in his father’s office looked nothing like the guy stood in front of him. He had been a typical, slightly gawky teenager. Not unattractive, he had been the sports star of Beacon Hills High at the time. But he’d had slightly too large ears and teeth that didn’t fit in his mouth quite right. Basically, he had looked like someone that Stiles might have possibly have had chance with, whereas _now_ he looked like a fucking male model _(/possible serial killer)_. And also because he’d thought that that Derek and his sister had gone somewhere else after the fire.

‘I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Just that I thought that you and your sister had left. Fuck, your sister, you said that she’d –’

‘Yeah,’ Derek interrupted, ‘We did, we went to New York. But then I lost my sister and the only family I had left was here.’

‘Here?’ Stiles asked, ‘Like, Beacon Hills.’

‘Like, here,’ Derek said, gesturing to the garage.

‘Cars?’ Stiles offered uncertainly. Derek laughed – actually laughed – for a second or two before shaking his head.

‘No, not cars. Peter, he’s my uncle.’

‘Oh,’ Stiles breathed out, ‘I didn’t know that Peter was a Hale.’

‘Yeah, he keeps it pretty quiet.’

Stiles nodded and knocked his knuckles against the side of the jeep. Derek followed the movement and shook his head again, turning back to the engine in front of him.

‘Yeah, sorry, I’ll get back to this now.’

Stiles glanced down at his knuckles tapping against the blue paint.

‘Oh god, that wasn’t – I wasn’t like, telling you to get on with it, I just – I have ADHD and I tap, it’s almost constant, I didn’t mean to do that, fuck, you must think I’m so rude. Oh god, I’m sorry.’

‘No,’ Derek said quietly, a small smile on his face. Stiles noticed that it pulled up more on one side than the other and that there was a small almost-dimple on the left side. He grinned to himself, Derek looked far less intimidatingly attractive when he smiled. _Still unbearably attractive but like, in a much softer, much less murder-y way,_ Stiles thought.

‘I don’t think you’re rude. Now, let me get a look at her.’

‘Him,’ Stiles replied. Derek looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

‘Cars are always girls.’

Stiles shrugged and took a deep breath, ‘I’ve always preferred boys.’

Derek laughed again, that short laugh that made Stiles smile. He wanted Derek to laugh all the time, and he wanted to be the one making him laugh. _No,_ he thought, _That was a dangerous train of thought. He literally couldn’t be_ more _out of your league._

‘Fine, then let me get a look at _him_ ,’ Derek said with a wink and a smirk, ‘I’ve never been very picky, you know?’

Stiles choked on his shock, he was sure that his face must be bright red and blotchy, but Derek was still just smirking at him. He looked at the floor and kicked at the dusty floor with the toe of his sneakers.

‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked. Derek scoffed slightly, and Stiles looked up hopefully.

‘I would say just go home and I’ll give you a ring when you can pick it up, but I don’t think you’d like that very much.’

‘You’re right. I wouldn’t,’ Stiles said, crossing his arms again. ‘Also, his name is Roscoe.’

‘Roscoe?’

‘Yes, Roscoe.’

Derek let out a half laugh and shook his head.

‘In that case, you can grab a chair and sit there quietly.’

Stiles walked over to where Derek was pointing and grabbed a fold-out metal chair, dragging it across the floor and unfolding it when he reached the front of the jeep. He flopped into it and looked up at Derek, a grin on his face.

‘I don’t do quiet very well.’

‘I'm getting that.’

Stiles’ grin got even wider.

‘You love it.’

‘Do I?’ Derek said dryly. Stiles kicked his foot out until it glanced off the back of Derek’s leg.

‘Yeah. You love that I keep talking, you love that I’m here and you love my car.’

Derek laughed. Stiles was quickly getting addicted to Derek’s laughter. He kicked his leg out again, bumping his toes against Derek’s leg. Derek looked back over his shoulder and raised one eyebrow.

‘What?’

‘Entertain me.’

‘You’re paying me to fix your jeep.’

‘Yeah, but that’s boring.’

‘Well, as I said before, you’re welcome to leave and I’ll ring you when it’s done.’

‘Not gonna happen,’ Stiles said, ‘You’d probably scrap my poor baby if I left him here with you.’

Derek’s face went suddenly serious, ‘I really am sorry, Stiles, I wouldn’t have said that if I’d known.’

Stiles waved off the apology but was too busy focusing on the fact that Derek had remembered his name.

‘You – you – you remembered my name.’

Derek’s eyebrow raised again.

‘Of course I did, Stiles isn’t exactly an easy name to forget.’

'It’s a nickname,’ Stiles said quickly, ‘My actual name is so much worse.’

‘Yeah?’ Derek asked with a smirk. ‘How bad?’

‘No way,’ Stiles replied with a laugh, leaning back in the chair, tipping it onto its two back legs. ‘That’s like a level 20 fact, you’re barely level 1.’

‘Okay,’ Derek laughed, his head back under the hood of the jeep. ‘How do I get to level 20?’

‘Nah, level 20 is like long-term boyfriend level.’

‘Okay, how about we start with just a date?’

Stiles’ mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. Derek turned around when he didn’t get a response.

‘Stiles?’ he asked, his voice had lost its arrogant edge and he sounded uncertain and kind of vulnerable. Stiles tried to refocus his brain enough to reply but all that came out was a garbled squawk.

Derek smiled, but this smile was even bigger and more open than the last. The barely-there dimple from before was out in full-force and his eyes were sparkling even in the dim light of the garage. They looked almost like they were flashing gold when the light hit them right but otherwise they were blue – or maybe green – and a bit yellow – and maybe there was some brown in there too but basically Derek had really nice eyes and they were all kinds of colours and Stiles was definitely supposed to be responding to something right now.

Oh yeah, Derek had just asked him on a date!

‘You really want to know my real name that much?’ he asked dumbly. Derek laughed and leant against the front of Roscoe.

‘No, I want to take you out on a date that much, getting to know your real name is just an added bonus,’ Derek said with a wink. Stiles blushed and looked down at his sneakers. The right one had a hole in, right above the line of the sole, he reached down and poked it with his finger.

‘I’d, umm,’ he paused, his voice cracking, ‘Really like that. A date, with you. I’d like to, it would be food, good, fun, I was gonna say fun but then I changed it to good so then I said food, I’m not thinking about food, but like, I guess that’s a date-y thing to do so like, maybe there will be but like, that’s not what I meant, you know, I meant good. Or fun. Either way. Not food.’

‘Stiles,’ Derek laughed, ‘Shut _up._ ’

‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise, it’s cute. And it means I have to talk less, which is great because I’m not the best at talking.’

‘That’s okay,’ Stiles grinned back, ‘I’m great at talking.’

‘I can tell.’

The door to the back office opened and Peter walked into the main garage.

‘Derek,’ he said loudly, ‘You better not be scaring away my favourite customer.’

‘I’m not,’ Derek replied sharply. Stiles grinned and nudged Derek’s leg with his foot again.

‘Definitely not scaring me off,’ he said quietly. Derek glanced at him and smiled warmly. ‘You might be stealing me away though.’

‘Yeah, well, I don’t think you mind being stolen.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Derek finally get that date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got around to writing the second part, it's longer than the first bit but there's still more I want to write so maybe watch out for a third bit!

‘What do I do Scotty?’ Stiles cried, flopping backwards onto his bed and flinging his arm over his face. He could hear Scott laughing at him from the other end of the phone.

‘What’d you mean?’ he replied, ‘You’ve already got a date, you just need to not scare him off.’

‘Yeah, that’s the issue!’ Stiles said, his voice cracking as he tugged at his hair. ‘How do I do that? People generally don’t like me very much, god knows why!’

‘It’s because you’re unbearable.’

That was Isaac’s voice. Stiles stuck his middle finger up at the phone and sighed.

‘Fuck you very much Isaac, honestly.’

‘Love you too, asshole.’

Stiles sighed again, ‘You’re lucky Scott loves you, there is no way I would tolerate you else.’

‘Course not,’ Isaac laughed, ‘But if that’s true then I guess you don’t want my help. With that said, you absolutely shouldn’t wear those black jeans that Lydia bought you and that red button-up shirt with the short sleeves.’

‘Really?’ Stiles asked, the uncertainty clear in his voice. ‘ _Those_ jeans?’

‘Yes,’ Isaac said. Stiles could hear Scott agreeing with him in the background. He nodded. _Okay_ , he thought, _Those jeans it is._

Isaac might be a massive dick, but he was an attractive dick and now Stiles was thinking about dicks. He bet Derek had an attractive dick. _Stop thinking about it,_ he thought, shaking his head to try and clear the image. Think of Scott, think of dad. The thoughts disappeared instantly, and he shuddered.

‘Okay, so what else?’

‘Maybe don’t talk about circumcision,’ Scott added, laughing. Isaac agreed with him and Stiles rolled his eyes. Those two were sickeningly sweet, it was the only reason he dealt with Isaac. Not that Isaac was actually all that bad –

‘Definitely suck his dick.’

He took that back. Isaac was definitely that bad.

‘Yeah, that too,’ Scott laughed. Stiles groaned and held the phone away from his ear until he heard them stop laughing. ‘But seriously, Stiles, just be yourself. He asked you out, so he obviously likes you and you said that the rambling didn’t even seem to bother him that much. So yeah, just be yourself minus all the bullshit about circumcision that you learnt when you wrote that essay and never forgot.’

Stiles laughed before taking a deep breath. ‘So just, be me. Thanks, Scotty, great advice.’

‘Any time, buddy,’ Scott said brightly before hanging up.

Stiles was left staring at the phone in his hand. _That couldn’t have been more obviously sarcasm, Scotty,_ he thought, shaking his head and laughing under his breath. _Okay, black jeans and the red shirt. Just be yourself Stiles, you can do that, you’ve been doing it for years._

***

Stiles glanced towards the window when the engine cut off close to the house. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain back a bit.

Derek had insisted on picking Stiles up, had said that there was no way he was going anywhere in Roscoe. But he’d said it with a small smile, so Stiles had forgiven him and agreed. He was so glad now that he had because the car parked on the curb outside his house was beyond gorgeous. Much like the man stood leant against the passenger side door.

The oil smudges were gone, and the white tank top had been replaced by a grey Henley and a heavy black leather jacket. His hair was perfectly styled, and he had a pair of aviators on. He crossed his arms over his chest and Stiles squealed, jumping away from the window. He was sure that he saw Derek glance up at the window as he did so but there was no way he could have heard him from so far away. It must have just been his anxiety playing up.

Stiles took another deep breath, digging his nails into his palm to ground himself. _Just be yourself,_ he thought, _Great advice, Scotty._

Derek looked up as Stiles pushed the door open, his eyes flashing as he grinned, one eyebrow raised.

‘Hey, you,’ he said softly as Stiles made his way over to him. ‘I was getting worried that you weren’t coming.’

The edge of Stiles’ lips quirked up at that.

‘Wouldn’t miss this for the world.’ Teasing and light mocking, he could do this. _Just be yourself, yeah okay Scott – maybe it was good advice, fuck you,_ he thought.

‘So, Stiles?’ Derek said, lowering his aviators. Stiles’ heart stuttered, and his breath caught in his throat. He realised too late that Derek had asked him a question.

‘Wait? What?’ he said. Derek smiled, his eyes going soft and warm as he did so.

‘I was asking,’ he said slowly, ‘Where you wanted to get food from?’

‘Oh umm,’ Stiles froze, ‘What kind of food?’

Derek laughed, ‘Whatever you want.’

‘Curly fries and milkshakes,’ he said quickly. Derek smiled again. ‘From Mandy’s, the diner.’

‘Mandy’s it is,’ Derek replied, stepping forwards and turning his back slightly to open the passenger door. ‘Come on trouble.’

‘I’m not trouble,’ Stiles said, ducking under Derek’s arm to climb into the passenger seat. Derek laughed dryly and reached into the car to ruffle Stiles’ hair. 

'Somehow, I doubt that,' Derek said with a wink as he pushed the door shut. Seconds later, he slipped into the driver’s seat, shrugging off his leather jacket and slinging it onto the backseat. Stiles’ leg started bouncing before Derek had even got the car away from the curb. He pressed his own hand against it to try and stop it but caught Derek glancing at him in the mirror.

‘Stiles,’ he said gently, a warm smile on his face. ‘Try not to be nervous, we’re just hanging out.’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever hung out with someone as hot as you though.’ Stiles cursed his lack of filter and his inability to think before he spoke, and Derek probably hated him now and was looking for a good place to push him out of the car and –

‘You’re adorable Stiles,’ Derek said, his voice still soft and warm. Stiles breathed out and relaxed slightly against the leather of the seat. Derek glanced over at him and smirked. ‘You’re also _completely_ gorgeous.’

Stiles spluttered again, his shoulders tensing as he tried to work out if Derek was mocking him. The first glance told him nothing, Derek was facing straight ahead, his face carefully blank. Stiles snuck another look and was rewarded with one of Derek’s soft smiles. He relaxed again and looked around the interior of the car, running his fingers along the edge of the dashboard.

‘So,’ he started, his voice still slightly strained but he definitely sounded more natural than he had before, ‘A Camaro, huh?’

‘Yeah,’ Derek said with another quiet smile. Stiles might actually be becoming addicted to those smiles. And to Derek’s laugh. And maybe just to Derek. Which was a dangerous thought and definitely not one he should be having on a first date. He could already feel his face heating up and the blotchy redness spreading down his neck. ‘It’s the car that belonged to my sister.’

‘Laura, right?’ Stiles said gently. Derek glanced at him and nodded.

‘Awesome, it’s awesome, you’re awesome,’ Stiles said, his blush intensifying as soon as he realised what he had said. ‘I mean, not you, the car, not that you’re not awesome but just that I don’t know, is that a weird thing to say, it’s probably a weird thing to say. I just meant that, I mean. You probably don’t care.’

‘I do care, Stiles,’ Derek said, reaching out to brush his knuckles against Stiles’ bare arm. ‘And for the record, I think you’re awesome too.’

Stiles blushed again. ‘Thank you, I mean, cheers, I mean –’

‘You’re welcome,’ Derek said with a smile. Stiles grinned back as Derek pulled the car into the car park of Mandy’s Diner and cut the engine. ‘Come on you, let’s go get your curly fries and a milkshake.’

‘What are you gonna have?’ Stiles asked as he slipped out of the car. Derek shrugged. The back of his hand brushed against Stiles’ as they walked towards the entrance. He looked at the menu just outside the door. ‘Maybe just fries? Or a wrap?’

Stiles squawked, hitting the back of his hand against Derek’s shoulder. ‘You can’t come to Mandy’s and have a wrap!’

‘It’s on the menu.’

‘That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to order it,’ Stiles said as his arms flailed around by his head. ‘God, I’ll order for you! You need to be taught how to appreciate junk food properly.’

Derek laughed. Stiles stopped, and a smile broke out across his face.

‘Fine Stiles, whatever you want.’

Stiles looked at him and raised one eyebrow.

‘Whatever I want?’ he repeated in a low voice, drawing his bottom lip into his mouth. Derek huffed out something that sounded more like a bark than a laugh and reached forwards to brush his thumb against Stiles’ lip, pulling it away from his teeth before letting go. Stiles stood there, frozen and not breathing.

‘Tease,’ Derek said lowly.

‘ _I’m_ a tease?’ Stiles’ voice caught on the words as he let out the breath in a rush. Derek laughed again, brushing his knuckles against the palm of Stiles’ hand. Stiles wrapped his fingers around Derek’s and squeezed slightly. Derek smiled warmly at him and squeezed back.

‘But yes, _whatever_ you want,’ Derek said, his voice coming out low and gravelly, as he dropped Stiles’ hand and turned to walk into the diner.

‘You’re a fucking asshole, Derek Hale,’ Stiles hissed as he caught up with him, tucking his hand back into Derek’s and enjoying the way his shoulders shook when he laughed.

‘And you’re fucking adorable.’

Stiles blushed again. He could hear Mandy cooing from behind the counter. She was a woman in her mid-fifties that had owned the diner for as long as Stiles could remember. She always recognised him and often gave him a discount on his curly fries. He normally liked that everyone in town knew who he was but at that moment, he couldn’t have wanted anything less. Especially when –

‘Mr Stilinski, who is this _gorgeous_ young man? Have you been holding out on me?’ she cried as they stepped up to the counter. Derek laughed softly and leant over the counter, one eyebrow raised.

‘Not at _all_ , in fact, I think _he’s_ been holding out on _me_ , he told me that you had the best curly fries in the town, not that he knew such a lovely woman.’

He winked over his shoulder at Stiles who was trying his best to hide his grin.

‘My goodness,’ Mandy said, pressing her hand to her chest, ‘Aren’t you a charmer?’

Derek grinned that toothy, gorgeous grin and Stiles tangled their fingers together even more.

‘I’m Derek,’ he said, holding out his free hand for Mandy to shake.

‘Mandy. So,’ Mandy started, Stiles’ eyes widened as he tried to signal to her to stop. She grinned at him and powered on through. ‘Are you lovely, little Stiles’ _boyfriend_?’

‘Not yet,’ Derek said with another charming smile. Stiles squawked again, batting at Derek’s chest with his free hand.

‘Any chance we could order any time soon?’ he said, rolling his eyes as Derek laughed and leant towards him.

‘Are you jealous, trouble?’ he whispered, his breath brushing against Stiles’ ear. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

‘Sure you can, honey,’ Mandy laughed, ‘To eat-in or takeaway?’

Stiles glanced at Derek and raised an eyebrow. ‘Takeaway, please Mandy.’

‘Of course, honey. So, double bacon cheeseburger with no salad and extra bacon, curly fries, a coke and a chocolate milkshake for you Stiles, and for your _lovely_ date?’

‘Derek’ll have the Everything Mexican burger with the chilli and curly fries aaaaaand –’

‘A water, please.’

‘Water?’ Stiles said, whirling around to face him. ‘You can’t just have water?!’

‘Fine then, can I have a bottle of flavoured water, please Mandy?’

‘I don’t think I can do this anymore, you drink _flavoured_ water! I feel like I don’t know you at all,’ Stiles said, leaning against the edge of the counter and draping his arm over his eyes as he pretended to faint. Suddenly, he shot back up, his arm smacking against the counter as he flailed. ‘Oh god, you don’t drink _sparkling_ water, do you?’

‘Of course not,’ Derek said with a grin, ‘Sparkling water is the devil’s drink.’

Stiles grinned back until Mandy smacked the back of his head with a dishcloth. ‘Go and sit down, you’re making the place look untidy.’

Stiles turned his grin on her as he dragged Derek over towards a small table by the window.

‘So, Stiles,’ Derek started, his fingers still curled around Stiles’, ‘Other than wrecking your Jeep and coming here to torture lovely diner owners, what else do you do?’

‘Oh, I’m taking a year out before going to college,’ Stiles replied, his voice quiet. He didn’t like talking about it, didn’t like that people either judged him or asked too many questions.

‘Yeah? I did that,’ Derek said, squeezing Stiles’ hand and smiling warmly. ‘What are you hoping to study?’

‘Criminology,’ Stiles said instantly, ‘I want to go into law enforcement, like my dad. But like, possibly into more data stuff instead of like actual cop stuff.’

‘That’s amazing, awesome even.’ Derek smirked at him, but Stiles just felt warm and happy. Derek still hadn’t separated their hands, their tangled together fingers were still rested on the table in between them.

‘What did you study?’

‘History, if you can believe it?’

‘Seriously?’ Stiles laughed, Derek grinned as he nodded.

‘I know, it seems like so long ago now.’ His smile dropped as he squeezed Stiles’ hand again. Stiles squeezed back.

‘Hey, I’m sorry.’

‘You don’t need to apologise, it’s not you. I was just thinking. I went to college before Laura, before she –’

Stiles squeezed again and nudged Derek’s leg with the toes of his sneaker.

‘It’s okay. Tell me more about Peter, is he always that creepy or is it just me?’

Derek grinned, ‘Nah, he’s always that creepy, always has been. But you definitely bring out the worst in him. He was not happy when I told him that I was taking you out. I think he has a bit of a thing for you.’

‘Fuck off,’ Stiles laughed, ‘I’m not keen on older men.’

Derek raised an eyebrow and glanced down at himself. Stiles laughed again and batted Derek’s shoulder with his hand.

‘You’re not _that_ much older than me,’ he said, before stopping. ‘Wait? How old _are_ you?’

Derek laughed, ‘I’m twenty-seven.’

‘Holy _shit_.’

‘Peter’s only thirty.’

‘Holy _shit_ ,’ Stiles repeated, ‘Maybe I _do_ have a thing for older guys.’

‘Or maybe you just have a thing for me,’ Derek said with a charming smile. Stiles smirked back. Teasing he could do.

‘Nah, it’s definitely just older men in general, the grey hairs really get me going.’

‘You’re going to _give_ me grey hairs if you’re not careful.’

Stiles leant over the table and smirked, ‘That’s the plan. Old man.’

Derek rolled his eyes and shook his head as Stiles laughed.

‘Your orders are up boys, who’s paying?’

Stiles made to stand but Derek glared at him and stood up himself, walking over to the counter and paying quickly. Mandy grinned and put her thumbs up over Derek's shoulder. Stiles dropped his head to the table as Derek caught sight of her and barked out a laugh. 

‘Come get your food, trouble.’

Stiles scrambled to his feet and grabbed the bag of food from Derek’s hand. ‘You keep calling me trouble, but you definitely don’t know me well enough to know that so –’

‘I can just tell,’ Derek said, ‘You have that kind of face.’

‘What?’ Stiles said, slipping into the passenger seat again. ‘A cute one?’

‘The kind that looks like it’s good at getting into trouble.’ Derek pushed the door shut and made his way around the front of the car.

‘And good at getting out of it,’ he continued as he slid into the driver’s seat again.

‘Because I'm so cute?’

Derek sighed, ‘Yes Stiles, because you're so cute.’ Derek pulled out of the diner’s carpark and turned the car towards the preserve. Stiles had only been out there a few times with Scott, like the time they tried to find a dead body or that other time they tried to find a coyote. They hadn’t found either. But the fact remained that Stiles had very little knowledge of the preserve, other than that it was where the remains of the Hale house was, completely abandoned.

‘So,’ he said, trying to clear his mind of the image he had seen in the incident folder of the burnt-out house. ‘Where are we going?’

‘There’s a spot in the woods that I want to show you.’

Stiles’ heartbeat sped up, it couldn’t be, it wouldn’t be –. No, it wouldn’t be the house. And it wouldn’t be Make-out Point. It couldn’t be, people Derek’s age with their own houses and their own cars didn’t need to go to Make-out Point. But now he was thinking about making out with Derek and Derek was sat right next to him and he was reaching out to squeeze his hand and oh god –

‘Calm down Stiles,’ Derek said. Oh god, had he really been freaking out that obviously?

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Hey, no, you don’t have to be sorry. I just don’t want you to worry. It’s just a beautiful clearing where you can see the stars,’ Derek said softly, his hand still covering Stiles’ where it laid against his thigh. ‘I just thought it would be romantic.’

‘It will be,’ Stiles said, turning his hand over to squeeze back. ‘So, theoretically, if I was super hungry and opened the bag of take-out –’

Derek growled, like actually growled, like one-hundred percent animal growled.

‘Okay, so that is an ix-nay on the food-ay,’ Stiles laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. Derek looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

‘What? I don’t know how pig Latin works.’

‘Me neither.’ Derek shrugged. ‘Actual Latin I can do pretty well, though.’

‘You speak Latin?’ Stiles burst out, Derek half-nodded.

‘Kind of. Some.’

‘Why is that hot? That shouldn’t be hot, right?’

‘Probably not,’ Derek laughed, ‘But I’m not complaining.’

Stiles let out another strangled squawk as Derek’s hand curled around his thigh, the tips of his fingers just brushing the inseam of the ridiculous black jeans. Stiles found himself half-frozen to the leather seat and unable to think enough to form sentences.

‘History?’ he choked out, trying to drag his attention away from the heat of Derek’s hand seeping through the denim. Derek nodded.

‘Yeah, history. I’ve always been interested, and it seemed like as good an option as any other.’

‘So how’d you go from that to the garage?’

‘Times change,’ Derek said with a sigh, ‘I didn’t want to be in New York without Laura and there wasn’t much else for me to do here. My uncle owned the garage and well, I’ve always been good with cars. My dad, Laura and I used to work on them together, so it was a way of staying close to them, I guess.’

‘I get that,’ Stiles said softly, dropping his own hand on top of Derek’s and squeezing gently. ‘My mum and I used to bake and cook together. I still love it.’

Derek smiled and squeezed back.

‘Yeah?’ he replied, his eyes still straight ahead, focused on the road as it twisted further into the woods, turning from tarmac to a dirt track. ‘You gonna bake something for me?’

‘Nah, baking is at least a level eight thing.’

Derek laughed, ‘What level am I now, then?’

‘Five,’ Stiles replied instantly. Derek laughed again and pulled the car into a small alcove tucked under some trees.

‘Come on you, it’s just this way,’ he said, reaching back to grab his leather jacket and the bag of take-out before pushing the car door open and jumping out. Stiles scrambled to follow him, standing close to Derek as he looked at the line of trees in front of them. The sun was only just beginning to set, it had barely gone eight o’clock, but the trees made everything look darker. Stiles was reminded of his father’s warning to stay out of the woods at night. He tucked himself closer to Derek. Derek’s arm wound around his waist and pulled him against his side.

‘You cold, Stiles?’

‘A little bit,’ Stiles whispered. Derek unwrapped his arm to tug his leather jacket off. He draped it over Stiles’ shoulders and tucked him back against his side. ‘Also a little bit freaked out. I mean, fuck, I’m sorry, that’s so fucking lame, I’m fine, I’m not a kid I promise.’

‘Hey, no, I don’t think that at all,’ Derek said warmly, squeezing Stiles around the waist. ‘What’s up, trouble?’

‘Just some stupid thing my dad always says about staying away from the woods at night, that you never know what’s in there and that sometimes weird things happen in Beacon Hills. I don’t know, it’s stupid.’

‘It’s not stupid, Stiles, trust me, it’s not,’ Derek said, ‘But you’re safe with me, I promise.’

Stiles nodded. He had felt much calmer since Derek had draped his jacket over him. Felt much safer tucked against Derek’s side. _Maybe it was something about Derek_ , he thought with a wry smile.

‘If you want to go somewhere else, we can, no worries.’

‘Nah, I’m okay, just don’t leave me behind.’

‘I could never leave you behind, Stiles.’ Derek’s voice had got that serious, uncertain tone that he had gotten when he’d asked him out. Stiles was beginning to realise that it meant that he was being sincere, that he meant whatever he was saying wholeheartedly. Stiles took a deep breath and relaxed against Derek’s chest.

‘Let’s go.’

Derek led him through the line of trees until they began to thin out into an open clearing. Stiles looked around before turning his eyes upwards and gasping at the sight.

‘You can see the stars!’

Derek laughed, ‘See? I told you it was gorgeous out here. Worth it?’

‘So totally worth it.’ Stiles glanced at the bag of food in Derek’s hand and grinned. ‘What? We gonna have a super romantic picnic of burgers and curly fries?’

‘You chose the food, Stiles, I just chose everything else.’

‘Fuck you, Derek.’

‘Hmm, well if that’s the way you want to do things,’ he said with a wink. Stiles choked on his response and blushed furiously.

‘Shut up,’ he mumbled. Derek laughed again. Stiles never wanted him to stop laughing.

‘Are you sure that’s what you want though, Stiles? It’s fine if it is,’ Derek continued as if Stiles hadn’t spoken, reaching forwards to stroke his knuckles down the side of Stiles’ face. Stiles sighed and leant into the touch, tugging the jacket closer around him.

‘But I’m just surprised,’ Derek paused again, curling his fingers around Stiles’ chin, his thumb resting on his bottom lip. ‘Baby.’

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and bit into his bottom lip to try and stop himself from squeaking. Derek smiled wolfishly and tugged at Stiles’ mouth.

‘Gorgeous Stiles, so, so gorgeous.’

Stiles stood there, frozen, his face heating up as Derek gazed at him, his eyes flitting from green to blue to gold to unnaturally blue. Stiles blinked a few times as Derek’s hand pulled away.

‘Sorry, Stiles,’ he said, his voice soft as he took a step back and held the bag of food out in front of him. ‘I just got a bit, you know, carried away.’

‘It’s okay, I didn’t mind, don’t, I mean. I don’t mind, at all, like, not one bit, like, literally, touch me when _ever_ ,’ Stiles stumbled over the words as he took the bag from Derek’s hands. Opening it, Stiles sank to the floor and grinned, pulling out Derek’s burger and holding it up to him. Derek smiled, seeming to relax, and took it from him, settling himself on the grass next to Stiles. Unwrapping his own burger, Stiles smiled back and nudged Derek’s arm with his knuckles.

‘How’d you know about this place?’

‘My family used to come out here once a month, just to spend time together and look at the stars.’

‘You used to come every month? That's awesome,’ Stiles said, taking a massive bite of his burger, the sauce dipping down his chin. Derek huffed out a laugh and reached forwards to brush it away.

‘Yeah, now it’s just me and my uncle,’ he continued, ‘We used to get on really well, Peter and I, until we were about your age, maybe a bit younger. Things just, fell apart.’

‘Why?’ Stiles asked, his mouth full of fries as he grabbed his milkshake.

‘Too many things that aren’t first date material,’ Derek sighed.

‘Fine,  what _is_ first date material?’

Derek looked at Stiles, one eyebrow raised as he lifted the burger to his mouth.

‘I’ve never been on a date before,’ Stiles said shortly, ‘So what?’

Derek brushed his arm with his fingertips, ‘Nothing, I’m just surprised.’

‘Yeah, well, people weren’t exactly lining up to take me out, before or after I came out,’ Stiles said with a sigh. The sigh turned to a grin as he continued, ‘Well, not like in a date way. People might have been lining up to take me out in a punchy kinda way. I don’t know, I wasn’t very popular.’

‘Seriously?’ Derek said, taking a bite of his burger.

‘Seriously,’ Stiles replied, ‘But luckily my bro Scotty wasn’t popular either, which sounds like a dick move but I’m not being a dick, he didn’t want to be. Well, not until Allison. She was this girl that turned up at the beginning of our sophomore year and Scott was completely in love with her. I don’t know, he got all obsessed with like lacrosse and stuff, and he dragged me along too. I was never very good at it though. He was alright, but he had pretty bad asthma so the two of us were mainly just bench warmers. But then it started clearing up, so he was allowed to play more so yeah, I was just left there all alone. The coach didn’t even know my name, he used to call me Bilinski. But yeah, anyway, so Scott got more popular and I was kind of dragged with him, but I don’t think that any of the popular crew really liked me all that much and –’

‘Stiles,’ Derek said with a laugh, ‘Take a breath.’

Stiles stopped and smiled uncertainly at Derek, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Sorry, I’m not very good at shutting up.’

‘It’s fine, I think it’s cute, I just don’t want you to die from lack of oxygen. So, tell me more about Scott?’

‘Scott’s awesome.’

‘Yeah?’ Derek said, shoving the empty wrapper of his burger back into the bag and stretching his arms up. Stiles stared at him as the muscles in his arms shifted. Derek lay back against the grass and tucked his arms under his head. ‘He and Allison get together in the end?’

‘Nah,’ Stiles said, finishing off his own burger in a last mouthful and stretching out next to Derek. ‘They were together for a while, but they broke up when she moved away. He’s at college now, at Berkeley, doing veterinary science. He’s with this guy called Isaac who’s kind of dick but Scott likes him so I guess he can’t be too bad.’

Derek laughed again, nudging Stiles’ shoulder with his own. Stiles smiled back.

‘Thanks for letting me ramble.’

‘I told you before Stiles, I don’t mind, I like hearing you talk.’

‘I like that you like hearing me talk.’

‘Do you know what else I like?’ Derek asked, his voice low and soft as he rolled onto his side and lifted himself up on one elbow. Stiles looked up at him from his spot on the ground, his eyes falling closed as Derek ran his fingers down the side of his face.

‘No, what else do you like, Derek?’

‘You.’

Stiles’ eyes flew open as he tried to sit up, smacking the top of his head against Derek’s chin. Derek rolled away, his hand clutching at his face.

‘Fucking hell, Stiles,’ Derek laughed dryly, running his hand through his hair.

‘What?’

‘You’re a nightmare, honestly,’ Derek laughed again.

Stiles sighed dreamily and flopped back against the grass. Derek barked out another laugh and rolled towards him again.

‘But you like me anyway?’ Stiles replied, his voice low and soft as he reached up to tangle his fingers in Derek’s Henley.

‘Yes, Stiles, I like you anyway, even if you _are_ trouble.’


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finds out what the blue flashes of Derek's eyes mean, and it was so much crazier (read as: cooler) than he had ever expected.

Derek froze, his mouth hovering over Stiles’ as he leant over him, his arm stiffening and his fingers digging into the grass next to Stiles’ head.

‘Derek?’ Stiles said quietly, his hand untangling from Derek’s t-shirt, ‘What’s up?’

‘Stiles, shut up a sec,’ Derek said, trying to keep his voice low and soft. Stiles’ brow furrowed as he lowered his hand back to his own chest. Derek’s hand slid down Stiles’ side, squeezing his hip gently before rolling away onto his back and pulling himself up into a sitting position. He tilted his head towards the line of trees and narrowed his eyes. ‘Just, please, give me a sec.’

Stiles nodded, sitting up as well and curling his arms around his legs as he tucked them against his chest. _He looks like a dog,_ he thought to himself. The thought probably would have made him laugh if he didn’t feel so freaked out. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that there was something. Derek’s reaction was enough for him to know that. He watched as Derek’s narrowed eyes flashed that brilliant, unnatural, maybe slightly terrifying blue. _It can’t just be the light,_ he thought, _There isn’t any light. Or like, not enough to make his eyes flash like that._

Stiles had been ignoring it, but it was getting to be too much to ignore. That had actually happened and there was no rational explanation for it. He didn’t feel unsafe though, not with Derek. It was whatever Derek was listening to that was freaking him out. He opened his mouth to speak but Derek’s finger pressed against his lips.

‘I’m sorry, Stiles,’ Derek continued, placing his hand against Stiles’ back, ‘I just need to listen for a minute, something’s going on.’

‘What do you mean? What’s going on?’ Stiles whispered, leaning into Derek’s shoulder.

‘One of those strange things that your dad worries about.’

‘Derek, please?’ Stiles’ voice shook as he spoke, clutching at his own legs. ‘Please tell me what’s going on?’

‘Stiles, please, get back to the car, you think you can do that for me? Get back to the car, yeah?’

Stiles opened his mouth to argue but Derek’s eyes flashed that unnatural blue again and he shrunk back. Derek took a deep breath and rubbed his hand across Stiles’ back.

‘Please, Stiles, sweetheart, please,’ Derek continued softly, Stiles nodded and scrambled to his feet.

‘Where are you gonna go, Derek?’

‘Into the forest,’ Derek replied. Stiles’ eyes widened as he looked down at where Derek was sat with his head still cocked towards the line of trees.

‘You said you wouldn’t leave me behind, Derek, you promised you wouldn’t.’

Stiles knew that he was whining but he couldn’t stop himself, he was scared and uncertain and he hated not knowing what was going on. He hated being in the dark about anything.

‘I know, I’m so sorry Stiles, I just need you to stay safe,’ Derek said, standing up and squeezing Stiles’ hand, ‘You head back to the car. Take the car and drive it back to your house, okay?’

‘You’re gonna let me drive your Camaro?’ Stiles whispered, but his voice was high-pitched and excitable. Even though he was freaking out more every second, there was still a part of him that soared when he heard that. Not only was it a gorgeous car but it was clear how much it meant to Derek, how much he cherished it. And he was going to let Stiles drive it! _Me,_ he thought, _Stiles fucking Stilinski!_

‘Yes, trouble, you get to drive the Camaro.’

Derek handed Stiles the keys quickly before pulling him into his arms quickly and squeezing gently.

‘I am sorry Stiles, this has been a terrible first date.’

‘It hasn’t actually,’ Stiles whispered, tangling his fingers into Derek’s Henley. ‘It’s been amazing. You’ve been amazing.’

A soft smile made its way onto Derek’s face, he leant in to nuzzle his nose and jaw against Stiles’ neck. Stiles could feel a blush spreading across his face as Derek’s breath brushed against the sensitive skin of the underside of his jaw.

Suddenly, Derek’s head shot up and he sniffed at the air, staring over Stiles’ shoulder at the line of trees.

‘Go, Stiles, please, I need you to run.’

The desperation seeping into Derek’s voice was enough to shock Stiles into moving, he nodded once and untwisted his hands from the front of Derek’s shirt.  

‘Okay, please stay safe, Derek, please, stay safe.’

‘I will sweetheart, I will.’

With that, he pulled away and ran towards the line of trees surrounding them. Stiles took a deep, shaky breath and watched him until he disappeared into the darkness. As soon as he couldn’t pick Derek’s shape out in the trees, he turned and ran, the only sound was his sneakers smacking against the ground. He burst through the line of trees, catching sight of the car at the edge of the track.

Barrelling into the car, he let out a deep breath. His hands were still shaking as he clutched at the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. He fell forwards, his head hitting the wheel. A horrible howl came from the forest, it sounded like a wounded animal, it was like nothing Stiles had ever heard before.

 _Derek told you to go home,_ he thought, _For once in your life, just do what you’re told._

Stiles would have laughed at how much he sounded like his dad if it wasn’t for the pained howling still coming from the beyond the trees. He took another deep breath and turned the key, shifting it into gear and guiding it along the dirt track and back onto the road.

 

***

 

Stiles fell into the chair at his desk and pulled his laptop towards himself, opening Google and trying to avoid thinking about how insane he felt. Tapping his fingers against the keys of his laptop he began typing.

 

          _glowing eyes_

_what does it mean if your eyes glow_

_flashing blue eyes_

_eyes flashed different colour_

Stiles shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. _You sound insane, you know that, right?_ he thought to himself, _Completely insane. What do you think you’re going to find?_

He shook his head again and tried to focus on the screen in front of him. He wasn’t getting any real results, they were all ridiculous conspiracy pages about magic and werewolves and –

Stiles froze, his fingers still on the keys as he went to delete his last search. He shook his head.

_Don’t be ridiculous, it can’t be, he can’t be, it’s all bullshit._

_But what if it’s_ not _?_ he thought, _You didn’t imagine his eyes flashing Stiles, that actually happened and you don’t have an explanation for that. Why is this any crazier than anything else?_

Stiles rolled his eyes at himself and clicked on one of the websites that looked less ridiculous. He read through the front page before clicking off of it. Scrolling down to the bottom of the search, he caught sight of a website called _The Bestiary._ He clicked onto it, not really expecting much but he decided that it was worth a look.

 

_**WEREWOLVES**_

_**Many Werewolves share similar proportions to humans.** _

_While appearing almost human, these shape-shifters possess superior strength, agility, and healing powers. Transference of pain and memories from others is also rumored to be among their abilities. Restraining a live Werewolf for study greatly aids in our knowledge about them; but the task is extremely difficult with available resources and, thus, ill advised. If attempted, one should acquire the heaviest gauge chain attainable and thoroughly inspect it for any defects. Be warned: even without defect, a Werewolf will most likely break free within the hour and be quite upset._

 

Stiles read through the information with bated breath, it seemed like whoever had written _The Bestiary_ knew what they were talking about. He caught sight of something about eyes and skipped down to it.

 

_Werewolves' eyes will glow a color when provoked. **Red**  is reserved for Alphas (beware red).  **Blue**  is a Werewolf who has already taken an innocent human life. **Yellow**  is a Werewolf who has yet to take a life._

 

 _Holy shit, Derek_ , he thought as he read. Shaking his head, he continued reading. _What the fuck is going on? This can’t be real._

It went on to talk about packs and Alphas and so many other things that Stiles could scarcely believe that he felt overwhelmed. His head was spinning, and his eyes were aching, but he couldn’t stop reading. It didn’t sound like the mad ramblings of a conspiracy theorist, it sounded like something researched and focused and really fucking real.

‘Holy _shit_ ,’ Stiles muttered under his breath as he continued reading. It wasn’t just this, there was stuff about everything kind of mythical creature Stiles had ever heard of – and several he hadn’t.

 _But maybe they aren’t mythical,_ he thought, _Maybe it’s all real, and maybe you went on a date with a fucking werewolf and maybe that was equal parts terrifying and amazing and maybe you should be more fucking careful about who you date but also maybe you never really want to date anyone else anyway and –_

And that was a thought that Stiles refused to have until he had a slightly better idea of what the hell was going on.

 _But holy shit_ , he thought, _Maybe_ this _is why weird shit keeps happening in Beacon Hills._

He shook his head and clicked off of _The Bestiary_ before shutting his laptop down. He ran his hand through his hair again and stood up, shoving his jeans off and moving slowly towards his bed. He glanced at the leather jacket that he had chucked onto his bed and smiled softly, picking it up and draping it over the back of his desk before stripping his shirt off and pulling on a worn Batman t-shirt.

With one final glance at his laptop, Stiles shook his head and climbed into bed. _Possible werewolf boyfriends can wait until the morning_ , he thought, his eyes falling shut as he relaxed. His eyes flew open a few seconds later as he realised what he’d thought. Because Derek wasn’t his _boyfriend,_ they’d had one date, one amazing date – at least until Derek had had to go and be all wolf-y in the woods – and Stiles wanted so many more but that didn’t mean that they were dating or even that Derek would _want_ to date him, maybe Derek hadn’t enjoyed it, maybe he was sick of Stiles’ rambling already, maybe he didn’t even want another date, maybe –

 _Maybe now is not the time to think about your fucking love life,_ he thought to himself bitterly. _Maybe_ now _is the time to think about the fact that apparently_ werewolves _exist. Fucking werewolves? As if the world wasn’t crazy fucked-up enough._

 

***

 

Stiles was woken from a fitful sleep a few hours later by a tapping at his window. He dragged himself out of bed and blinked a few times as he pulled the curtain back just enough to peek through. He looked out and then dropped the curtain, squeezing his eyes shut tight enough to make little spots of light flash in the edges of his vision.

 _Okay, take a deep breath and look again,_ he told himself, _Because you’re clearly being insane and there is no way that Derek is crouched on the rooftop outside your window right now. It just can’t be happening. It just can’t._

Stiles took a deep breath and pulled the curtain back just the tiniest bit. Nope, Derek was still there. Crouched on the rooftop outside his window, looking just like the werewolf he might actually be.

_What the fuck?_

Stiles pulled the window open and stepped back as Derek climbed through. His eyes were wide and desperate, the edges rimmed with that unnatural blue. He was sniffing the air around Stiles and wait, that made a lot more sense if he was a wolf, right?

 _Fucking hell, was that what the jacket was about? Trying to make me smell like him!_ he thought.

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.

_There are a few more pressing issues right now, like the werewolf thing –_

Stiles looked at Derek and reached out to flick his light on. His eyes were drawn to the wet splodge on the side of his head, beginning right at the edge of his and running along his hairline.

\- _and the fact that that is definitely blood!_

‘Derek,’ he said quietly, reaching out his hand towards him. ‘You’re bleeding!’

‘It’s stopped now,’ Derek replied gruffly, reaching up and pressing his own fingers against it. ‘The blood is mostly dry. It was nothing.’

Stiles stared at him before shaking his head and stepping forwards.

‘Yeah, no, that’s too blood for you to be able to brush it off like that,’ he said, ‘What the hell happened to you?’

‘Nothing,’ Derek replied, ‘Nothing happened Stiles.’

‘For some reason,’ Stiles said with one eyebrow raised, ‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Okay,’ Derek said with a sigh, ‘Something happened but it’s over now and I’m fine.’

Stiles nodded, stepping closer still. ‘Cool, still let me look. Just for my own peace of mind.’

Derek took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Stiles gestured to the bed and blushed slightly. Derek made his way over and settled himself against the sheets. Stiles walked over to him and leant forwards to inspect the blood. He reached out to brush his fingers against it, his eyes narrowed.

‘Where’s all this blood come from, Der?’ he said quietly, ‘I can’t see an injury.’  Derek shrugged, his eyes focused on the floor. Stiles took a deep breath and stepped away. He made his way quietly down the corridor to the bathroom, getting a damp cloth and a bowl of warm water. He sat down carefully on the edge of the bed and wiped at the blood staining the side of Derek’s face.

‘Derek, I, I need to –’ Stiles cut himself off, glancing down at himself and swearing under his breath. He saw one edge of Derek’s mouth flick up at that. He looked back up. ‘I need to put some fucking pants on.’

Derek smiled properly at that, but his eyes were still firmly trained on the floor. Stiles could feel the blush spreading across his face and down his neck in large red blotches. Dropping the cloth into the bowl and hurrying to his dresser, he grabbed a pair of sweatpants and tugged them on. He let out a breath and turned back to Derek.

‘I actually _do_ need to talk to you about something though,’ he started again. Derek nodded, still refusing to look up. Stiles poked his shoulder. ‘Please look at me, Der, I don’t think I can do this else.’

Derek took a deep breath and looked up, his brow furrowed and his fingers digging into the sheet on either side of him.

‘At the risk of sounding like Bella fucking Swan, I think I know what you are,’ Stiles continued, before squinting and correcting himself, ‘Who you are, not what, that was fucked up. It’s who not what except like, is it? I don’t know? What’s the lingo? Like, is it PC to say what you are? Or is that racist? Species-ist? I have no fucking clue.’

‘Stiles?’ Derek breathed out, ‘What are you saying?’

‘Oh,’ Stiles replied, ‘Did I not say that bit?’

Derek shook his head. Stiles snorted.

‘Wow, yeah, that’s so me, I’m so sorry, this was gonna be awesome, I was gonna like write a speech and shit, so I knew what I wanted to say, but then you just had to appear at my window like fucking Romeo Montague. Except I refuse to be Juliet, because they were both fucking idiots.’

‘Stiles, you still haven’t got to the point,’ Derek said softly.

'Oh, yeah, sorry,’ he laughed, ‘You’re a werewolf, right?’

Derek’s eyes widened, and he took in a deep breath.

‘How the _fuck_ did you work it out in a few hours?’

‘Your eyes kept flashing blue, like it was hot and all, but it was also kind of fucking weird, so I had to know what was going on.’ Stiles blushed slightly as he realised what he’d said but he carried on regardless. ‘So, I googled it and like, most of it was just like conspiracy shit but then I found this one thing called _The Bestiary_ or something and it seemed legit. It had the stuff about glowing eyes and healing and stuff. Which I guess is why there’s blood but no injury?’

Derek nodded, his eyes still wide, the blue leaking in from the edges.

‘You’re incredible,’ he breathed. Stiles shrugged and blushed.

‘It was nothing, just google.’

'No, you’re _incredible_ ,’ Derek repeated, reaching his hand out to brush against Stiles’ side. Stiles let out a long breath and stepped towards him. ‘Is this still okay, sweetheart?’

‘Yeah,’ Stiles said breathlessly, ‘So, so okay.’

Derek flashed him that blink-and-you-miss-it grin before standing up and curling his hands more securely around Stiles’ hips, pulling him forwards. One of Stiles’ hand buried itself in the short hair at the back of Derek’s neck, the other tangled in the material of his Henley. Derek tugged at Stiles’ hips slightly until he stood on tiptoes to bring himself almost level with Derek. They were pressed together from their chests to their feet, Derek’s arm sliding around his waist to press against his back to pull him impossibly closer.

‘Can I kiss you, Stiles?’ Derek’s voice was low and rough but still so soft. Stiles felt his cheeks heating up at the intensity in Derek’s eyes. He nodded slowly as his eyes fell closed. Derek’s mouth was warm and so, so soft as it brushed against his own. _As soft as his voice_ , Stiles thought, _Maybe softer._

Derek kissed him again and again, tiny, light butterfly kisses against the edges of his lips, on his eyelids, his jawline, his forehead, one against the tip of his upturned nose that made him giggle. Derek’s hands just pressed into his skin even more. Stiles was half-certain that he was going to have bruises in the morning, but he was also completely certain that he wouldn’t care if he did. Pressing himself even closer to Derek, he brushed his own mouth against Derek’s. Derek growled low in his throat. Stiles pulled back slightly, just far enough to whisper in Derek’s ear.

‘Well, that’s super fucking hot.’

Derek let out a short bark of laughter under his breath and squeezed Stiles’ hip.

'Get back here,’ Derek growled, his hand sliding from Stiles’ hip to his chin, tugging his mouth back towards his own. He slid their mouths together, hot and wet and oh-so perfect that Stiles’ brain cut out. All he could focus on was the feeling of Derek’s mouth against his own, the _hotwetperfect_ slide of it as Derek brushed his teeth against the edge of Stiles’ bottom lip.

‘This is so unfair,’ Stiles murmured against Derek’s mouth as he pulled away to take a breath. ‘You’re so fucking good at this and I’m like –’

‘Perfect,’ Derek breathed out, ‘You’re perfect, Stiles.’

‘I was gonna say fucking inexperienced, but I’ll take perfect.’

Derek laughed into Stiles’ neck before inhaling deeply. Stiles’ hand tightened in Derek’s hair.

‘Holy _shit,_ ’ he gasped, ‘That’s what you were doing earlier! You were sniffing me!’

‘I was _scenting_ you,’ Derek corrected him, a faint blush high on his cheeks. ‘It relaxes the wolf.’

‘It’s why you gave me your jacket, isn’t it?’ Stiles continued.

‘You were _cold_ ,’ Derek insisted. Stiles laughed, bright and free and joyous.

‘Course, Sourwolf.’

‘Fuck you.’

‘I would _not_ complain.’

‘God, Stiles, you really _are_ trouble.’

Stiles laughed again, pulling Derek back in for another kiss.

'Yeah, but you like me anyway.’

‘I do. I really, really do,’ Derek mumbled against his lips before kissing him properly. ‘You brilliant, beautiful boy.’

         

***

 

By the time they managed to untangle themselves from each other, they had manoeuvred themselves onto Stiles’ bed, Derek sat against the headboard with Stiles’ legs stretched over his lap. Derek glanced towards the window and let out a short bark of laughter. The sun was beginning to make its way over the horizon, and the pale gold light was filtering through the gap in the curtains that Stiles had left when Derek had climbed through a few hours before.

Stiles’ lips tingled, he pressed his fingers to them. They felt bruised and kiss-warmed, like nothing he had ever felt before. He smiled softly at Derek and got a smile and a squeeze of his hips in return.

‘You look so gorgeous right now, Stiles. So, so gorgeous.’ Derek said, his voice low and rough from lack of use. ‘You brilliant, beautiful boy.’

Stiles’ smile widened as he leant in for another kiss, Derek’s large hands sliding to grip at his thighs. He pulled away and took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut and twisting Derek’s Henley in his hands.

‘ _Your_ boy,’ he said softly, a blush spreading over his face, ‘If you want me.’

‘Yes, of course,’ Derek said breathlessly, his voice so full of sincerity that Stiles had to open his eyes. Derek was staring at him, his eyes boring into Stiles’, the bright blue bleeding in from the edges. ‘ _My_ boy, my brilliant, _beautiful_ boy.’

Stiles nodded, tucking his face into Derek’s neck.

‘Fuck, I’ve never felt like this before, Der,’ he said. Derek hugged him close and let out a please hum, his chest vibrating where it was pressed against Stiles’. ‘Did you just _purr_? _Can_ wolves purr?’

‘I wasn’t _purring,_ Stiles, I’m a wolf, not a cat.’

‘You were _so_ purring,’ Stiles giggled against his neck.

Derek’s arms tightening around Stiles momentarily as he let out a dreamy sigh.

‘I was _not_. But, Stiles,’ Derek paused, taking a deep breath, ‘I’ve never felt like this before, either. I’ve heard about it, but I never imagined that it would happen to me.’

‘Der?’ Stiles asked uncertainly, Derek sounded like he was talking about something specific, but Stiles wasn’t sure. Derek shook his head and ran a hand through Stiles’ hair.

‘Don’t worry, sweetheart,’ he whispered. Stiles nodded sleepily and yawned against Derek’s neck. ‘Hey, Stiles, you should sleep. I only came here to make sure that you got home safe. And to let you know that I was okay.’

Stiles nodded again, pulling himself slowly away from Derek and rolling onto his back. He waved a hand in the general direction of the leather jacket.

‘Your car keys are in your jacket.’

‘Thank you, sweetheart,’ Derek said, leaning down to brush a tiny butterfly kiss against Stiles’ temple. The bed shifted slightly as he stood up, padding across the room. Stiles’ eyes fell shut and he was fast asleep before Derek had even climbed back out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I thought that I was finished with this, I was just going to write their first meeting then I was just going to write their first meeting and their first date and now I don't know how long it'll be but I need to write some more. Stick with it, yeah? It's still going to be almost exclusively fluff and awkward flirting, just with some werewolf-y stuff added in. Also, I really want to write about Scott and the Sheriff meeting Derek.
> 
> I need more people to talk about Teen Wolf with so come and cry about these amazing boys with me on tumblr @r-and-his-apollo!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles wakes up the morning after his date (and the subsequent make out session, and the big werewolf reveal but it's the make out session that stuck with him) to find Derek's leather jacket still slung over his desk chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek was supposed to meet the sheriff properly in this chapter but he got shy so instead these boys just spent their time snarking at each other. I hope you enjoy anyway!

Stiles blinked awake as the sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains that Derek had left. He rolled onto his back and stretched his arms above his head, his eyes fluttering open. They landed on the leather jacket still slung over his desk chair. A small smile slipped onto his face as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. _Wow, he left his jacket,_ he thought with a grin, _God, he’s such a nerd._

He was shocked out of his thoughts by a knock on his bedroom door.

‘You awake Stiles?’ the sheriff asked through the door.

‘Yeah, just woke up.’

The door opened slowly, and the sheriff poked his head around.

‘You working today?’

‘Yeah, I’ll be in soon.’

The sheriff nodded. He glanced around the room quickly, his eyes falling on the jacket. Gesturing towards it, he turned back to Stiles and raised an eyebrow.

‘Where’d that come from?’

‘Where’d _what_ come from?’ Stiles said, pulling the sheet up to his chin in an attempt to hide his blush.

‘The jacket, Stiles, where did that ridiculous leather jacket come from?’

‘It may be from the guy I went on a date with last night.’

‘May be?’

‘Is,’ Stiles replied, ducking his head further behind the sheet. ‘It definitely _is_ from the guy I went on a date with last night.’

‘And his jacket is here _why_ , Stiles?’ the sheriff continued, his eyebrow still raised.

‘Because he gave it to me last night when I was cold.’

‘I’d like to meet him.’

‘Dad,’ Stiles whined, ‘We’ve been on _one_ date. I can’t just invite him to dinner!’

‘Fine,’ the sheriff said with a short laugh, ‘Go on a few more dates, and _then_ invite him to dinner.’

Stiles groaned and flopped back against the pillow as the Sheriff laughed shut the door behind him as he left. Stiles lay there for a while longer before dragging himself out of bed once he heard his father leave. He changed quickly, glancing at the jacket and grinning. He had just reached the door when he turned around and grabbed it, tugging it on and pulling the sleeves down over his hands.

         

***

 

Stiles ducked into the coffee shop just down the road from the station, pushing the sleeves of the leather jacket up his arms as he did so. He joined the back of the queue and pulled out his phone. There was a text from Scott asking him how his date went. He grinned and tapped out a quick reply. He heard a cough from behind him and glanced over his shoulder.

_Oh fuck,_ he thought, _Derek is stood right there and you’re wearing his jacket. Did he mean to leave it? If he didn’t then it’s super creepy that you’re wearing it. But even if he_ did _leave it for you, then that doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to be wearing it in public. That’s like a couple-y thing, like a teenager girl wearing her boyfriend’s letterman jacket around high school just so everyone knows that they’re –_

‘Hi, Stiles,’ Derek said quietly. Stiles shot him a quick smile.

‘Hey Der,’ he replied, ‘I mean, Derek. Hi, Derek.’

‘You can call me Der, Stiles, I don’t care, it’s cute, I like it.’

' _You’re_ cute, I like you,’ Stiles said quickly. The tips of Derek’s ears turned red. Stiles grinned. Derek shook his head and rolled his head, nodding at the counter in front of them both.

‘Move along, Stiles, the barista is waiting for your order,’ Derek laughed. Stiles turned quickly and hurried towards the counter, apologising to the barista. She grinned and waved his apologies away with his hand.

‘No worries at all, honey, what can I get for you?’

‘Oh, umm, four black coffees, a green tea and a caramel macchiato?’

The barista laughed and nodded, turning to the counter behind her and getting to work. Stiles was almost certain that he recognised, she looked familiar, like maybe she was at Beacon Hills High at the same time as he was, but she looked older than him. _That might just be the blonde bombshell look and the bright red lipstick,_ he thought. He shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard Derek’s voice over his shoulder.

‘Four black coffees, Stiles, you sure that’s a good idea?’ Derek asked. Glancing back, Stiles grinned.

‘They’re not for me,’ he said, ‘I’m working at the station with my dad for the year. He sent me to get coffee for his deputies.’

‘Your dad?’

‘Yeah, he’s the sheriff for Beacon County.’

‘Yeah, I remember you mentioning that he was in law enforcement,’ Derek said thoughtfully, smiling at Stiles before gesturing at the barista in front of them ‘I think your coffees are done.’

Stiles whirled back around to see the six drinks sat on the counter in front of him. The blonde barista grinned and nodded towards the till. Stiles dug into his pocket and tugged out his wallet, fumbling with the notes his father had given him.

'13 dollars 80,’ the barista said with a wink, ‘A small discount for _friends_ of Derek.’

‘Fuck off, Erica,’ Derek replied, his voice low and barely disguising a laugh. The barista – Erica – laughed again and flipped Derek off. Stiles thanked her and tried to grab the cups off the counter. Rolling his eyes, Derek picked up the last two cups.

‘Black coffee,’ he said shortly. Erica rolled her eyes and turned back to the machines behind her.

‘You hate black coffee.’

Derek’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the back of Erica’s head. ‘Make me a black coffee, Erica, I swear to god.’

Erica just laughed. Stiles stood awkwardly off to the side, the hot cups burning his bare hands.

‘Umm, Der,’ he started, ‘The cups?’

‘What?’ Derek replied, his eyes softening as he turned to Stiles.

‘The cups,’ Stiles repeated, ‘Those two cups, they’re mine, for the station.’

‘I know,’ Derek said, the confusion clear in his voice, ‘I was going to carry them for you. You can have them if you need to get back.’

‘Oh, no,’ Stiles squeaked, ‘I mean, that would be great, thanks, cheers, thank you.’

‘You’re welcome, trouble.’

‘I really don’t think it’s fair that you keep calling me trouble, you hardly know me well enough to do that.’

‘Again, I definitely know enough about you to know that you’re trouble.’

‘As adorable as this is,’ Erica’s voice burst through, shocking Stiles and forcing him to drag his eyes away from Derek, ‘Your drink’s ready, Der-bear.’

‘Der-bear?’ Stiles asked incredulously. Derek glared at him, his eyebrows drawing down and making him look even more serial killer than normal.

‘Don’t you dare.’

Stiles laughed and saluted, ‘Nah, I’ll just stick with Sourwolf.’

Erica’s eyebrow raised delicately, ‘Derek?’

‘Yes,’ Derek replied. Stiles glanced between the two of them, a whole conversation had passed between them with just those two words and Stiles hated not knowing what was going on.

_Maybe she’s a werewolf too,_ he thought, _Maybe they’re pack._

He rolled his eyes at himself, he sounded completely insane. _But Derek is_ definitely _a werewolf, so it isn’t_ that _crazy,_ he thought.

Shaking his head, he refocused on the scene in front of him, Derek had paid for his drink and had balanced it in between the two he was already carrying for Stiles.

‘You coming, trouble?’

Stiles nodded and hurried after Derek as he walked out, smiling at Erica over his shoulder in thanks.

‘Does she -?’

‘Yes.’

‘Is she -?’

‘Stiles,’ Derek said, his voice was low, and it was an obvious warning. Stiles sighed but he nodded. _I guess they have to be careful who they tell,_ he thought, _And I guess that it isn’t Derek’s right to tell me._

‘So, umm, thanks,’ he said instead, nodding at the cups in Derek’s hands, ‘For that. The coffees. Thanks for carrying the coffees.’

‘Not a problem, Stiles, I offered.’

‘Well, yeah, but still thanks.’

The two of them fell silent. Stiles could feel the edge of his mouth twitching as it did when he couldn’t tap against his leg.

‘I, err, had a great time last night.’

Derek’s shoulders relaxed as he smiled softly.

‘So did I, Stiles.’

'I’d love to do it again sometimes, just like, without the running for my life and also the bleeding on your end.’

Derek let out a short bark of laughter.

‘That sounds perfect, Stiles.’

‘You ever gonna tell me what happened last night?’

‘No.’

‘You sure about that?’

‘Yes.’

Stiles laughed and nudged Derek’s shoulder with his own, ‘You don’t know that, you love me, I bet I could get you to tell me anything.’

‘Stiles,’ Derek said, one eyebrow raised, ‘I barely tolerate you.’

 

***

 

‘So, do you wanna like, give me your number?’ Stiles mumbled, ‘So, I can like text you, and sort out another date?’

Derek raised an eyebrow and put the cups he was carrying on a low wall outside the sheriff’s station. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he handed it to Stiles without a word.

‘The silent, brooding werewolf thing only goes so far Sourwolf,’ Stiles said as he juggled with the cups he was holding until he could place them on the wall next to Derek’s. He took the phone, tapped his number in and said, ‘You are actually gonna have to talk to me at some point.’

‘I talk to you –’

‘More than you talk to anyone else,’ Stiles laughed, ‘I know, I can tell.’

‘Shut up Stiles,’ Derek laughed in return. Stiles flushed. Exposure was doing nothing to quell the reaction Derek’s laugh had in him, it still made him want to make him laugh again and again. He realised that maybe he was moving too quickly and that maybe he sounded a bit too much like Scott and that maybe this was all going to blow up in his face but maybe, also, he didn’t care, because maybe he was falling for the grumpy, silent Sourwolf with the most gorgeous laugh ever that he would do basically anything to hear again, and utterly embarrassing himself was not excluded from that.

‘I’ll text you,’ Stiles said quietly, Derek smiled. Just a small one, where just one edge of his mouth flicked up.

'I’d like that Stiles.’

Stiles could feel his cheeks turning red as he tried to gather all the cups into his arms, one of them tipping dangerously close to his chest. Derek raised an eyebrow and let out a short laugh as Stiles swore and righted it with his chin.

‘Fuck you very much Derek Hale.’

He could hear Derek laughing louder as he turned away and made his way towards the door.

'Hey Stiles,’ Derek called after him. Stiles paused and turned slowly. ‘You just stole my coffee.’

Stiles sighed and wobbled his way back to where Derek was stood. Derek glanced at the pile of cups balanced under Stiles’ chin and tapped the tip of his finger against his jaw. He pointed to one at the bottom of the pile.

‘That one.’

‘Are you serious?’

Derek nodded, ‘Yup, sorry trouble, I’ll make it up to you.’

‘You’d fucking better.’

‘You swear far too fucking much, trouble.’

Stiles laughed and the cups wobbled eve more dangerously.

‘But also, why on earth did your dad send _you_ to get the drinks?’ Derek asked as he tried to extricate the cup from the bottom of the pile.

'I think he gets sick of me hanging around his desk,’ Stiles said with a laugh, ‘Also, he sneaks to the breakroom and eats the donuts whilst I’m not there. He’s not supposed to because of his heart but he’s not very good at doing as he’s told, I definitely get that from him, you know. But yeah, he sneaks and eats them, I tried to get his deputies to rat him out to me but apparently, they’re more scared of their boss than his scrawny son, god knows why.’

Derek laughed as he finally managed to pull the cup free without dislodging all the others.

‘Get back to work, Stiles.’

Derek turned away, taking a large swig of his drink and walking down the street back towards the café.

‘Do you really want me to text you?’ Stiles yelled after him. He could hear Derek laughing.

‘Yes,’ he yelled back.

‘Awesome!’

Derek’s shoulders shook as he laughed, turning on his heel to face Stiles again.

‘Hey Stiles?’

‘What?’

‘Shut up.’

‘You’re a fucking asshole Derek Hale.’

‘Yeah, and you’re a nightmare, but for some reason I like you anyway.’

‘I like you anyway too, even if you _are_ a dick.’

‘If you’re done flirting, Stiles, we’d really like those coffees now,’ the voice yelled from behind Stiles. Stiles froze. He recognised that voice. That was his dad’s voice. His dad, the _sheriff’s,_ voice. His dad, the sheriff, who had just heard him yelling down the street at some guy. Some guy that was actually a werewolf. Some guy that was actually a werewolf that Stiles thought he might actually be falling for. Stiles glanced over his shoulder and shrugged when he saw his father stood next to the open door. He knew that his face was bright red, but he was trying to ignore it and act nonchalant. Turning back, he realised that Derek had disappeared. Which was kind of unfair, but Stiles couldn’t really blame him, _he_ would also have run away. If he thought that he had a chance of getting away with it. Which he didn’t, definitely.

‘Stiles,’ his father repeated, ‘Coffee.’

‘Yes!’ Stiles yelped, spinning on his heel and hurrying towards the door, his face still bright red. ‘Coffee.’


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Derek have an adorable second date - Derek Hale is a complete sap and Stiles learns more about werewolf lore and also what it means to date a werewolf.

‘So, you gonna invite him to dinner yet?’ the sheriff said as soon as the door swung shut behind him. Stiles poked his head out from the kitchen and glared at his father.

‘Nope, absolutely not.’

‘Come on, son, I want to meet this guy.’

‘I’m eighteen, dad, eighteen,’ Stiles whined as he disappeared back into the kitchen. The sheriff followed him in and grabbed a beer from the fridge before leaning against the counter and raising his eyebrow.

‘And how old is _he_?’

‘Twenty-seven,’ Stiles mumbled, his back turned to his father as he leant over whatever he was cooking.

‘ _How_ old?’

Stiles sighed and turned around, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms.

‘He’s twenty-seven,’ he said defiantly. The sheriff sighed and shook his head.

‘You don’t make things easy, do you son?’

Stile shrugged and turned back to the pot that was threatening to bubble over on the stovetop.

‘Course not, that’s no fun.’

The sheriff let out a short laugh and shook his head with another heavy sigh. Stiles’ phone buzzed on the counter and he abandoned the pot to hurry over to it.

 

_Are you busy tonight?_

He grinned at the message and picked his phone up, typing his response one-handed as he glanced back at the pot.

 

**just cooking tea for my dad, I’ll be free after 7ish??? :)**

 

 _After 7_ _sounds good, would you like to do something?_

Stiles grinned, leaning against the counter and hugging his phone to his chest before replying quickly. The sheriff raised an eyebrow.

‘That him?’

Stiles nodded and sighed happily as his phone buzzed again. The sheriff rolled his eyes.

‘Ask him to come for dinner some time,’ he said, picking up his beer and making his way to the lounge.

‘Why don’t you understand why I can’t do that?’ Stiles yelled after him. The sheriff’s laughter floated through the door.

‘Because you don’t do casual,’ the sheriff replied, ‘You were in love with Lydia Martin for years, I’ve been waiting for someone else to catch your eye for a while now.’

Stiles rolled his eyes and turned back to his phone.

 

  _What do you want to do?_

**I don’t mind, anything??? watch a movie or something???**

_A movie sounds perfect. Is there something at the cinema that you wanted to see, or did you want to come to mine?_

**I want to come to yours.**

Stiles replied quickly, feeling his face heat up as he imagined it. Watching a movie sat on Derek’s sofa, curled against his chest, Derek’s arm around his waist, holding him close and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Derek’s hot breath against the side of his neck, Derek’s big hands curled around his hip, Derek’s mouth on his, Stiles’ legs stretched over Derek’s lap, Derek’s –

Stiles took a deep breath and shook his head.

 

**as long as I’m welcome??? I don’t wanna intrude!!**

 

His phone buzzed almost immediately.

 

_Not at all, that sounds amazing. You want me to pick you up or you gonna drive over?_

 

Stiles grinned and hugged his phone to his chest again.

 

**I’ll drive over, no worries ;)**

 

_Perfect, see you soon._

 

Derek replied quickly. Stiles liked people that replied quickly. _People that reply quickly are great, aren’t they_ Scott _,_ he thought bitterly. He turned back to the stovetop and turned the heat down, stirring it quickly and glancing at the clock.

‘Hey dad?’ he called into the other room, his father hummed in acknowledgement. ‘I’m going out tonight, don’t wait up for me.’

‘Where you going?’ the sheriff asked, turning away from the baseball game in front of him. Stiles shrugged and turned away, feeling his face heat up as he replied.

‘Derek’s.’

‘You safe?’

‘Dad!’ Stiles yelled from the kitchen, his face bright red.

‘Stiles,’ his father responded evenly, ‘You’re only eighteen, I worry about you. And you don’t know much about this guy, I just want you to be careful.’

‘I will be dad, don’t worry so much,’ Stiles said quietly, walking over to lean against the doorframe to the lounge. ‘He’s nice dad, he’s really nice. If a bit of an asshole, but only as much as I am.’

‘I know you think so Stiles but just be careful, that poor man’s been through a lot.’

Stiles sighed and nodded, ‘I know dad, but he’s amazing.’

‘I’d feel better if I met him.’

‘I know dad, give me a little while and I’ll ask, I promise,’ Stiles said imploringly, ‘I just really don’t want to scare him off by coming on too strong. I really like him dad.’

The sheriff took a deep breath and sighed, taking a swig of his beer. ‘Okay, Stiles. But I do get to meet him, sooner rather than later.’

‘Sooner rather than later, dad, I promise.’

 

***

 

Stiles pulled Roscoe up in front of the garage, Derek had told him to meet him there because the house he shared with his uncle was just behind it. He scrambled out of the jeep and glanced around, pulling his phone out of his pocket when he couldn’t see Derek. Just as he was dialling the number, he heard someone call his name from the darkness.

‘Derek?’ he called back, his voice wavering slightly. The garage was pretty close to the line of trees that marked part of the forest. And now that Stiles knew that the weird things his dad has mentioned were actually _werewolves_ and _who-know-what-else,_ he had a healthy respect and a mild fear of the woods.

‘Yeah, Stiles, it’s me,’ Derek laughed as he walked out of the darkness and into the light streaming from the floodlight above the garage. ‘How you doing?’

‘I’m good,’ Stiles sighed dreamily, gazing at Derek as he made his way over to him. He was wearing what looked like it had to be the softest jumper in the world and Stiles couldn’t wait to find out if he was right. Making grabby-hands at the man in front of him, Stiles pouted when Derek didn’t move anything but his left eyebrow. ‘I’d be even better if you came over here and hugged me, asshole.’

Derek laughed and stepped forwards, wrapping his arms around Stiles’ waist and pulling him close to his chest.

‘Hey gorgeous,’ he mumbled into Stiles’ hair as it tickled his jawline. Stiles tangled his fingers into the material of Derek’s jumper and whimpered when it was soft as he’d imagined. ‘You okay there, trouble?’

‘Fuck off,’ Stiles murmured, his voice muffled as he pressed his face into the material at Derek’s neck. ‘This jumper is fucking insane.’

Derek just laughed and pulled away slowly, untangling Stiles’ fingers from his clothes. Stiles whined but relaxed when Derek curled their fingers together.

‘Come on you, movies await,’ Derek said, tugging gently on Stiles’ hand to lead him towards the small house behind the garage. ‘Peter’s out all night, I have no clue where but honestly, I couldn’t care less.’

Stiles nodded, feeling his face warm up as he realised that they were all alone. _Stop acting like a fucking teenager whose parents are of the town for the first time,_ he thought, rolling his eyes at himself, _Derek is an actual adult, that’s not why he said it._

‘You want a drink or anything?’ Derek asked as he gestured at the couch in the middle of the lounge. Stiles bit his lip before grinning.

‘Can I have a beer?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Derek said with a laugh, ruffling Stiles’ hair when he pouted.

‘My dad lets me.’

‘One,’ Derek said with a wry smile, ‘I doubt that, and two, even if he does then that’s his choice and does not mean that I can give you alcohol.’

‘God,’ Stiles groaned, flopping onto the couch and closing his eyes, ‘You’d think that dating an older guy would mean that I’d get to do stuff like drink.’

There was no reply. Stiles’ eyes flew open and he shot up as he realised what he’d said.

‘Not that we’re, I mean, not that we’re, you know, I know we’re not really, you know,’ Stiles stumbled. Derek raised his eyebrow and smirked.

‘Aren’t we?’ he asked, his voice sounded far too innocent to be real. Stiles stopped stuttering suddenly.

‘We are?’

Derek shrugged.

‘Wait? What? Seriously?’ Stiles said, flopping back again, ‘Pinch me, I have to be dreaming.’

‘I asked you out, I don’t know this is such a surprise to you,’ Derek said with a short laugh. Stiles sighed and sat up a second time.

‘Because one date doesn’t mean that we’re _dating,_ duh.’

‘Doesn’t it?’ Derek said, sounding more adorably confused than was possibly allowed.

 _Maybe he wasn’t faking it, maybe he really thought we were dating,_ Stiles thought, _Holy shit, he wants to date me!_

Stiles shook his head.

‘Do you like, _want_ to date me?’ he asked incredulously. Derek nodded, the adorably confused look still on his face.

‘Of course I do, Stiles, I thought we discussed this last night.’

‘Wait? What?’ Stiles asked, ‘When?’

Derek paused and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. _Big hands,_ Stiles thought, _Such fucking gorgeous, big hands._ Shaking his head, he tried to concentrate, Derek looked confused and a little bit worried.

‘When you said about being my boy, I thought that was –’

‘Yeah, but we were like, making out and stuff, I didn’t realise you _meant_ it!’ he burst out. The confusion on Derek’s face changed to worry and _is that sadness?_ Stiles thought, _Yeah, that’s absolutely not okay._

‘Did you not mean it?’ Derek asked. Stiles shook his head and stood up, pressing himself against Derek. Derek’s arm wound around Stiles’ waist as he relaxed, one hand sliding up to play with the short hairs at the base of Stiles’ neck.

‘Of course _I_ meant it,’ Stiles said, pressing his lips against Derek’s jawline and the side of his neck. ‘I just wasn’t sure if you did.’

‘I did,’ Derek said quickly and decisively. Stiles’ hands tightened even more in the material covering Derek’s chest.

‘Holy _shit_ ,’ Stiles whispered against Derek’s skin. ‘I’m so fucking lucky.’

Derek let out a short bark of laughter and shook his head, squeezing Stiles’ waist.

‘Did you still want a drink?’ he said with a grin. Stiles shook his head and tugged Derek towards the couch, half climbing into his lap. ‘You comfortable there, gorgeous?’

Stiles nodded and grinned. One of Derek’s hands curled around his waist, settling against the skin of Stiles’ hip where his t-shirt had pulled up slightly. The other hand rested on the leg Stiles’ had slung over his thighs, tugging it towards his chest slightly. He sighed happily and leaned in to press a kiss to the side of Stiles’ head.

‘What film do you wanna watch, Stiles?’

‘Don’t care,’ Stiles mumbled, ‘Just wanted to be close to you.’

‘God, you’re lovely,’ Derek said softly, almost too quiet for Stiles to hear.

‘Lovely?’ Stiles scoffed, sitting up slightly to laugh. Derek rolled his eyes at him and squeezed his thigh.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘Lovely.’

Stiles shook his head and rolled his eyes before leaning back into Derek’s chest and nuzzling against him slightly.

‘If I’m so lovely,’ he said, ‘Can I have a beer?’

Derek let out another short bark of laughter. _Fuck,_ Stiles thought, _I love his laugh._

‘The answer’s still no, no matter how lovely you are.’

‘That’s just fucking mean.’

‘I’m a werewolf, mean kind of comes with the territory,’ Derek said dryly. Stiles laughed, his shoulders shaking slightly.

‘Nah, you’re a complete softie,’ he said with a grin, ‘Basically a puppy.’

‘I could rip your throat out with my teeth.’

‘Could, but wouldn’t,’ Stiles continued, the grin never leaving his face. ‘You like me too much. You want to _date_ me.’

Derek rolled his eyes.

‘Holy shit, you want to date me,’ Stiles repeated, the awe in his voice enough to make Derek push him into a sitting position.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I thought we had that discussion a minute ago?’

‘Yeah, yeah, we did,’ Stiles replied, lifting his hands to cup Derek’s face. ‘But like, you actually want to _date_ me, like you want to be my boyfriend and shit. That’s so fucking crazy. And also means that you have to come for dinner and meet my dad.’

Derek laughed, ‘Yes, Stiles, I want to be your boyfriend, that kind of goes with the ‘wanting to date you’ thing.’

‘Yeah, but like, you have to meet my dad. I have to introduce you to my _dad_. He kept telling me to invite you, but I said that we’d only had like one date, so it didn’t count but it so fucking counts. Because you want to date me. Holy shit, I’m so not over that.’

Derek laughed again, squeezing Stiles gently and leaning forwards to grab the remote.

‘Come on trouble, we can watch a movie and you can process this for-some-reason shocking information.’

‘It _is_ shocking information, dude,’ Stiles insisted, ‘You’re like, you, and I’m like, me. And like, not only are you crazy hot, but you’re also a fucking werewolf? Like, that’s way more awesome than anything I am.’

‘Shut up Stiles,’ Derek said warmly, ‘You’re incredible.’

He leant in to nuzzle his cheek and jaw against Stiles’ hair, pressing butterfly kisses to his hairline.

‘My brilliant, beautiful boy,’ he whispered, his mouth pressed to the edge of Stiles’ ear. Stiles shivered at the feel of it and squeezed Derek’s arm.

‘You’re a fucking sap, you know that Hale?’

‘Only for you, Stiles,’ Derek murmured into Stiles’ hair.

‘Not helping your case, cupcake,’ Stiles laughed and batted gently at Derek’s shoulder. Derek grinned into his hair and sat back, leaning against the couch.

‘Go pick a movie, trouble.’

Climbing out of Derek’s lap, Stiles wandered over to the huge bookcase next to the television and stared up at the options in front of him.

‘Why do you have so fucking many?’ he asked, glancing over his shoulder to where Derek is sat on the couch, his arms stretched across the top behind him. _He looks so fucking good,_ Stiles thought, _Holy shit, that guy actually wants to date you._ Derek shrugged and grinned.

‘Peter.’

‘Fucking Peter,’ Stiles laughed, ‘And the books are yours, I guess?’

‘Yeah, the books are mine,’ Derek replied, his eyes falling closed as he waited for Stiles to choose something.

‘Why are so many of these indie, foreign bullshit?’

‘Because Peter likes to pretend that he’s super well-educated.’

Stiles laughed, ‘You really don’t get on, do you?’

‘We’re alright,’ Derek shrugged, ‘We’re better than before anyway. He’s the alpha now, you know, since –’

‘Yeah,’ Stiles replied quickly, ‘Is he alright, you know, as an alpha?’

Derek shrugged again, one eye opening as he watched Stiles put a film into the DVD player.

‘He’s not as good as Laura, or as my mum, but he’s okay.’

‘How did he become the alpha?’ Stiles asked as he tucked himself back against Derek’s side, his arms slipping from the back of the couch to wrap around Stiles’ waist.

‘After Laura,’ he took a deep breath, Sties stroked a hand down his chest.

‘You don’t have to tell me, Der, not if you don’t want to.’

‘No, sweetheart, I want to,’ Derek said, squeezing Stiles even closer, their legs tangling together. ‘After Laura died, it passed onto Peter. If a beta kills an alpha then the power transfers to them, but if an alpha is killed by something else then it passes onto the next person in line. We didn’t know if it would go to me or him.’

‘I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk,’ Stiles said, nuzzling into Derek’s neck. ‘Thank you for telling me.’

‘I want you to know everything about me Stiles, it’ll just take me a while to get to that point.’

Stiles felt his face warm and tears pricking the edge of his eyes at that. Pressing himself even closer to Derek, he pulled himself up to whisper against his jawline.

‘I want to know everything about you too. And I want you to know everything about me too.’

He felt Derek smile into his hair, his arms squeezing him slightly.

‘Start the film, trouble.’  


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek finally meets Stiles'dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this scene because I recently found out that a 'fuck-ton' is an actual unit of measurement and I feel like Stiles would be just as excited about that information as I was!

‘Der, what are you worrying so much about?’ Stiles asked, leaning across the central console of the Camaro to pull Derek’s hands from the steering wheel.

Derek sighed and pulled his hands away from Stiles. Dragging one hand through his hair, he tipped his head back against the driver’s seat.

‘This, Stiles, everything,’ he said, his voice shaking slightly. Stiles’ eyes widened,

and he reached out again to take Derek’s hand.

‘I don’t _do_ this. I can’t even remember the last time I was in a relationship where I had to meet somebody’s _parents._ ’

Stiles pulled his own hands away, folding them into his lap.

‘Yeah, well, some of us have never had _any_ kind of relationship before.’

‘That’s not,’ Derek said immediately, grabbing Stiles’ hand and curling their fingers together. ‘God, Stiles, that’s not what I meant at all. I meant that I can’t remember the last serious relationship I had, or if I’ve _ever_ had one that I cared about as much as this one.’

The annoyance melted off of Stiles’ face as he squeezed Derek’s hand.

‘Are you in any way aware that you’re supposed to be the _cool_ one?’ he asked with a grin. Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘What?’

‘You’re supposed to be the cool one! You know, older guy, awesome car, leather jacket, doesn’t make me almost cry every time we see each other by saying nearly unbearably sweet things. Can you practice being that guy, maybe? I don’t think my heart can take all this emotion.’

Derek smirked in response and squeezed Stiles’ hand again.

 ‘Hey Stiles?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re adorable.’

‘Shut _up!_ ’ Stiles said, rubbing his face with his free hand. ‘You’re too fucking perfect.’

‘No,’ Derek replied, ‘That’s you.’

‘Shut _up!_ ’ Stiles repeated, his hand pulling out of Derek’s to join the free one in flailing. Derek let out a short bark of laughter and ducked as one of Stiles’ hands came too close to his face. ‘Now, come on so my dad can finally meet the guy he thinks I’ve been screwing for the last week and a half.’

He pushed the door open and swung his legs out of the Camaro. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Derek sat stock still, staring through the front windscreen at nothing.

‘Der?’ he said, touching Derek’s arm gently.

‘Your dad thinks we’re having _sex_?’ Derek said finally. Stiles snorted.

‘Well, yeah, dude, I’ve hardly been home for a week and a half and I’m so much happier. He definitely thinks I’m getting laid.’

‘But we haven’t,’ Derek hissed, ‘Why didn’t you tell him that?’

Stiles laughed again, ‘Der, there is no changing my dad’s mind once it’s made up. And I’ve barely been home for a _week and a half_. _I_ wouldn’t believe me if I was anyone else.’

‘This is so much worse.’

‘Der,’ Stiles said, pulling his legs back into the car and twisting in his seat to grab Derek’s hand. ‘You do this for me and I will give you a literal fuck-ton of kisses. Which is an actual unit of measurement, how cool is that? A metric fuck-ton. It’s equal to, I think, twelve shit-tons. But that might be wrong. But yeah, a literal fuck-ton.’

 _Why are you still talking?_ the little voice in the back of Stiles’ head said, _You’ve already fucked this up, you can’t_ fix _it now._

Derek’s shoulders shifted as he relaxed, turning to Stiles with a smirk on his face.

‘A fuck-ton is a unit of weight Stiles, how’s that gonna work?’

 _Suck it,_ Stiles thought aggressively at the little voice, _I can_ so _fix this!_

‘I dunno know Der, how much does a kiss weigh?’

‘You’re ridiculous,’ Derek said fondly, rolling his eyes and pushing the car door open. ‘Let’s go.’

‘But you like me anyway!’ Stiles cried as he scrambled out of the Camaro and rushed after him. Derek smiled again, pausing for Stiles to catch up and curl their fingers together.

‘For some reason.’

Stiles grinned and dragged Derek towards the front door. He pushed it open quickly and pulled Derek inside.

‘Dad!’ he called down the corridor to the lounge. ‘We’re here.’

‘In the lounge, Stiles,’ the sheriff’s voice called back. Stiles turned to Derek and rolled his eyes.

‘He doesn’t even love me enough to come and greet me,’ he said, just loud enough for the sheriff to hear. A loud burst of laughter exploded down the corridor. Rolling his eyes again, Stiles led Derek into the lounge.

‘Oh god, dad, put that away!’ Stiles said as soon as he reached the doorway. Derek glanced away until he heard the sheriff’s voice.

‘I am the sheriff of Beacon County, Stiles. It’s important that I keep my equipment clean.’

‘Yes, but do you really have to do to right now?’

‘Course I do,’ he said, continuing to clean his gun and barely looking up. ‘Derek.’

‘Sheriff,’ Derek said with a nod.

‘You suitably intimidated?’

Stiles rolled his eyes and glanced at Derek, who actually looked concerned.

‘Absolutely, sir,’ he replied, looking so earnest that Stiles almost laughed.

‘Good,’ said the sheriff, putting the gun away. He held his hand out for Derek to shake. ‘Sheriff Stilinski. Call me Noah. It’s great to finally meet you.’

‘You too, sir, Stiles talks about you a lot.’

‘And he doesn’t talk about you nearly enough,’ the sheriff replied. Stiles found himself rolling his eyes again. _Get used to it,_ he thought, _You’re going to do that a hundred times tonight._ ‘Anyway, tell me about yourself?’

‘I’m a mechanic,’ Derek said, racking his brain for something else to say. With a glance at the sheriff, he added, ‘Sir.’

‘Drop the sir Derek, you’re old enough for us to speak as equals,’ Noah said, but a small twitch at the edge of his mouth betrayed his amusement. ‘So, where’d you work?’

‘At _Peter’s Tyres and Lube,_ sir. Noah,’ Derek replied, correcting himself quickly. Stiles giggled and both Derek and his father turned to him with matching raised eyebrows.

‘God, that’s terrifying,’ Stiles laughed, ‘You two are not allowed to spend too much time together.’

The sheriff rolled his eyes, but he was smiling slightly.

‘Go and order the pizza, Stiles, you’ll know what I want.’

‘Yeah. And I also know what you’re allowed,’ Stiles said as he uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off of the arm of the couch he had been leaning against. ‘Der?’

‘Anything’s fine, sweet–,’ Derek cut himself off, glancing quickly at the sheriff before saying, ‘Stiles.’

Stiles grinned and winked at Derek, already pulling his phone out as he left the room.

‘So, you work at Peter’s shop?’

Derek nodded. ‘Yes. He’s my uncle.’

‘Of course he is,’ Noah said, nodding slowly. He nodded towards the couch opposite him. ‘Take a seat Derek. I don’t bite.’

‘And neither do I unless you ask me to,’ Stiles said with another wink and a grin, poking his head around the door frame. The tips of Derek’s ear reddened as the sheriff shook his head and rolled his eyes.

‘Nothing you say will shock me anymore, son.’

‘Nothing?’ Stiles asked, glancing at Derek. Derek’s eyebrow raised until Stiles shook his head minutely.

‘Absolutely nothing,’ the sheriff said. Stiles shrugged. ‘Now, are you ordering those pizzas or –?’

‘Yes sir, sorry sir, on it sir.’

‘Good,’ Noah laughed, ‘Now get on with it.’

Turning back to Derek, he rolled his eyes and nodded in Stiles’ direction. ‘Don’t know why you’d _choose_ to deal with him. Some of us don’t have a choice.’

‘God only knows, honestly,’ Derek said dryly.

‘Piss off, Der, you think I’m great!’ Stiles yelled from the corridor.

‘Just order the damn pizzas, Stiles,’ Noah called back. ‘Anyway, a mechanic?’

‘I used to do a lot of work on engines with my dad. Sometimes Peter helped, but mostly it was my dad and my sister,’ Derek said with a small, sad smile. ‘But that was back before –’

He stopped but the sheriff nodded in understanding.

‘I was a deputy at the time, but I heard about it. It was a tragedy, truly. Your mother was an incredible woman and your whole family did so much for Beacon Hills.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Derek replied, his head dipped just as Stiles returned. He leant against the door frame and crossed his arms. Derek sighed but continued, ‘After the – the fire, Laura and I went to New York. We thought we were the only ones that had – we just needed to get away.’

Stiles made his way slowly towards Derek and sat down on the couch next to him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. Derek smiled warmly and squeezed back.

‘And then when I was about seventeen, we got a phone call from my uncle. He’d somehow managed to survive.’

Stiles shuffled closer to Derek. He knew what was coming next and how much support Derek would need.

‘So then, we kept in contact as he healed. We tried to persuade him to join us in New York, but he didn’t want to leave Beacon Hills,’ Derek continued, ‘But then, about a year ago, I lost my sister. So, I came back to Beacon Hills to be with the only family I have left. And he runs a garage so –.’

Derek shrugged. Stiles leant his head on Derek’s shoulder and squeezed his hand. He knew how hard it was for Derek to talk about it, and he had just told his dad the whole story because he knew how important the sheriff was to Stiles.

‘Thank you, Derek,’ Noah said, his voice low and even, ‘For telling me.’

Derek nodded.

‘Proud of you, Der,’ Stiles whispered. Feeling Derek squeeze his hand, he smiled and shifted his leg, so his knee pressed against the side of Derek’s jean-clad thigh.

‘Pizzas, Stiles?’ the sheriff asked, his voice still low and measured.

‘About twenty minutes.’

The sheriff nodded. ‘You like baseball, Derek?’

‘Yes, sir, used to play at school too.’

‘Less of the sir, what did I say?’ Noah said with a grin that was much like Stiles’ that Derek found his cheeks warming. He smiled in return, shy but so sincere. Noah turned back to the television and clicked it on, flicking through the channels before stopping on a re-run of an old _Dodgers_ game.

‘Stiles has never been the biggest sports fan,’ the sheriff said with another Stiles-esque grin.

‘Screw you dad,’ Stiles laughed, ‘I played lacrosse in high school.’

‘You warmed the bench for lacrosse in high school,’ Derek replied, sliding his arm around Stiles’ shoulders and flashing him one of those brilliant grins that Stiles is already obsessed with.

‘Yeah, well, screw you too Derek Hale.’

The sheriff laughed and shook his head, ‘I think you’ll fit right in. You poor thing.’

Derek’s grin faded to a small, warm smile as he nodded.

‘I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all,’ he said, squeezing Stiles’ shoulder and pulling him towards his side. Stiles came willingly, his head coming to rest on Derek’s broad shoulder.

‘I’m pretty sure that Stiles is only a _Mets_ fan to spite him,’ he continued, the only thing betraying his happiness was the small smile tugging at the crow’s feet by his eyes. He’d never been the best with emotions, preferring to make people laugh instead. _That’s where I get that from,_ Stiles thought with his own small smile.

Derek laughed, and Stiles hummed happily at the vibrations.

‘I’ve always been a _Dodgers_ fan,’ he replied. Stiles rolled his eyes as Noah shot him an appraising look.

‘Yeah?’ he said. Derek nodded uncertainly. The sheriff grinned. ‘Me too.’

Derek relaxed, and Stiles groaned exaggeratedly as the two of them fell into a conversation about the _Dodgers’_ last season and their chances for the next.

 _Holy shit,_ Stiles thought, tucking his head more comfortably against Derek’s chest and receiving a gentle squeeze in return, Derek turning slightly to press a kiss to his hair. _This is_ awesome _!_

 

***

 

‘How’d I do, baby?’ Derek asked later, leaning against the Camaro and pulling Stiles into his arms.

Curling his fingers into Derek’s shirt, Stiles nodded and smiled warmly.

‘You did awesome, Der,’ he said, his voice soft and quiet. Derek tightened his arms around Stiles’ waist and pressed his mouth to the edge of Stiles’ hair.

‘I’m so glad, sweetheart. You’re so important, _this_ is so important to me.’

‘You’re important to me too, Der,’ Stiles replied, nuzzling his nose against Derek’s jawline. ‘I can hardly believe you’re real.’

Derek let out a short half-laugh and kissed Stiles temple again, squeezing him quickly.

‘Hey, Der?’ Stiles said, looking up at Derek with a wicked grin on his face. ‘Do you want that fuck-ton of kisses now or later?’


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Derek finally have a conversation about something Stiles read (and definitely should have asked about before now).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter but I thought that it was important for them to have this conversation.

‘Der?’ Stiles asked, looking up at Derek from where he had his head rested against the werewolf’s chest. Derek hummed in acknowledgement as his hand stroked across Stiles’ back. Stiles took a deep breath and looked down again.

‘When I found out, about you, I read something. And I wanted to ask you about it but I wasn’t sure how to and I’m still not sure but you’re really important to me, so I kind of need to know,’ Stiles said, stumbling over the words in his haste to get them out. Derek sighed and pulled his hands away, pulling himself up into a sitting position with his back against the headboard. Stiles sat up after him, crossing his legs and facing Derek.

‘What did you read, Stiles? It’s okay, you can ask me anything.’

‘It was about the colour of a werewolf’s eyes,’ Stiles replied. Derek froze, his shoulders stiffening and his breath hitching.

‘Okay, Stiles,’ he said, trying to keep his voice even but unable to hide the shake of it entirely. ‘And what did you want to ask me?’

‘It said that blue eyes meant that a werewolf had,’ Stiles paused, his voice dropping to a whisper when he finally spoke again, ‘Killed someone.’

Derek let out a long, slow breath.

‘I should have told you before. There’s so much that I should have told you before,’ Derek said, his voice soft and so sincere. ‘It’s a long story but you deserve to know. I’m so sorry for not having told you before now.’

‘Derek,’ Stiles said, reaching out and taking Derek’s hand in his own, curling their fingers together and squeezing gently. ‘I trust you.’

‘I know,’ Derek said, his eyes falling shut as he continued, ‘I hope you still will after this.’

‘I will,’ Stiles said, his voice strong and serious. ‘I know you wouldn’t do it by choice, Derek, I know you.’

Derek nodded and looked down at his lap. He took a deep breath and began.

‘There was a girl, when I was fifteen. Her name was Paige and she was brilliant. She was everything I wasn’t. Smart, kind, fascinating. We hated each other to begin with, but then slowly, that changed and I, well, I _thought_ I loved her. I don’t know now, it was so long ago,’ he said, still not looking at Stiles. ‘I told Peter. Because I told Peter everything. He was my best friend at the time, more like a brother than an uncle. So, I told Peter, and he told me that she wouldn’t love me anymore if she found out what we were. That she _couldn’t_ love me, not really, unless she was one of us. I didn’t want to hurt her, but he insisted that it was only way she would love me.’

Derek’s voice shook as he spoke, drifting off into silence at the end of the sentence. Stiles squeezed his hand in his again and lifted it up to press a gentle kiss against his palm.

‘It’s okay, Der, please tell me.’

Derek continued after a few seconds, the tops of his ears faintly pink, ‘So, Peter arranged to have a visiting Alpha bite her. I know that I should have stopped him, but I was fifteen and I was stupid, and I just wanted her to love me. And Peter was older and wiser, and he knew all these things I didn’t. It took me a long time to realise that actually, Peter didn’t know anything. But this Alpha bit her, and the Bite either Turns you or kills you, I’m not sure what decides which it does but there’s got to be something. But anyway, this Alpha bit her, and it – it didn’t –’

He broke off again, his voice shaking too much to carry on as his eyes filled with tears. Stiles squeezed his hand again.

‘Did she?’ he said, his voice low and soft. ‘Is _that_ why they’re blue?’

Derek shook his head, blinking against the tears.

‘No,’ he said, his voice still weak and wet and shaking. ‘Dying from the Bite takes a really long time and it’s painful. It was so painful, Stiles, I couldn’t leave her, but I hated seeing her like that. She was begging me, she kept asking me to end it quicker, to make the pain go away. I didn’t know what to do, Stiles. I – I just wanted to help her. I just wanted to stop her from hurting anymore.’

‘So, you –’ Stiles said after a few silent moments. Derek nodded slowly.

‘Yes,’ he said. Stiles squeezed his hand again. ‘I understand, if you want nothing to do with me now, Stiles.’

‘Derek,’ he said, his voice low and soft as he shifted forwards on the bed to wrap his arms around Derek’s shoulders. ‘I’m never leaving you.’

‘Not even, not even now? That you know?’

Stiles shook his head and buried his face in Derek’s neck.

‘Especially not now.’

Derek’s hands clutched at the back of Stiles’ t-shirt, pulling him closer and nuzzling his face into soft hair.

‘Stiles,’ he murmured, ‘Stiles, Stiles, Stiles.’

‘I got you, big guy,’ Stiles said, pressing the palms of his hands against the back of Derek’s neck. ‘Thank you for telling me, Der.’

‘Thank you for listening.’

‘I’m so sorry that happened to you, Der. No one should ever be in that position, especially not a child. I’m so sorry.’

Derek shook his head.

‘Don’t be, I still did it, I still,’ his voice dropped to a whisper as Stiles’ had done, ‘I still killed her.’

‘You only did it to help her, Der, you only did it take away the pain. Do you honestly think that that’s not what anyone would do in that situation? No one wants to see the people they love in pain. _I_ would have done the same. If I could stopped my mum from hurting than I would have Derek. Maybe it wasn’t the _right_ thing to do but I could never hate you for it.’

Derek clung to Stiles and let himself cry. Stiles ran his hands in broad strokes across Derek’s back and shuffled forwards until he was curled in his lap.

‘I trust you, Derek, I trust you with my life,’ he murmured into Derek’s neck. ‘You’re brilliant and brave and beautiful and I’m never leaving you, Der. Not for anything in the world.’


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles introduces Derek to Scott and Isaac, finds out something new and has an incredibly awkward conversation with his best friend ever

‘Holy shit, Scotty! You’re home early!’ Stiles yelled as he threw himself at his best friend, wrapping his arms around his neck and almost pushing him backwards in his excitement. Scott squeezed him tight before pulling away with a huge grin on his face.

‘Yeah, missed you too much to stay away,’ he replied, reaching out to ruffle Stiles’ hair. Stiles grinned back.

‘Course you did, ‘cause I’m fucking awesome.’

Scott grinned again, bumping Stiles’ shoulder with his own.

‘Also, I wanted you to get to meet Isaac properly,’ he added, gesturing to where Isaac was stood, Scott’s bag slung over his shoulder and a scarf wrapped around his neck. Stiles turned to him with a smirk.

‘What’s with the scarf?’ he asked. Isaac smirked in return, raising an eyebrow in a way that was too familiar for Stiles to ignore. He just couldn’t place it.

‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ Isaac replied with a wink. Stiles laughed and stuck out his hand for Isaac to shake.

‘Good to meet you properly, rather than through a screen.’

Isaac took Stiles’ hand and shook it, ‘You too. You’re cuter in person, I can see why Scott stuck with you.’

‘Screw you, Scott loves me for my personality,’ he said with a grin. _This is gonna be fun,_ he thought. ‘And anyway, I’m hella cute. Just ask Derek.’

Scott bumped their shoulders together again.

‘Speaking of, how _is_ everything with your mysterious older man?’

‘Incredible,’ Stiles said with a sigh. Scott rolled his eyes and laughed at Stiles’ dreamy voice.

‘Oi,’ Stiles added, ‘You don’t get to laugh, I distinctly remember you being awful when you met Isaac. _He’s so gorgeous, Stiles, he has these eyes and this hair and just, wow, and he’s so funny and smart and –_ ’

‘Alright, shut up now,’ Scott laughed, shoving at Stiles’ shoulder and glancing at Isaac.

‘Aww, babe, no,’ Isaac said with a laugh, shifting the bag on his shoulder so he could reach out and curl their fingers together. ‘It’s cute, and I was _just_ as bad with my friends.’

‘Yeah?’ Scott asked, his eyes going soft as a dopey smile drifted onto his face. Isaac squeezed his hand.

‘Yeah.’

‘Urgh,’ Stiles groaned, still laughing under his breath, ‘Why are you so gross when you’re in a relationship? It’s unbearable. Seriously, Scotty, get some self –’

Stiles was cut off by his phone ringing. He scrambled to get it out of his pocket, answering the call as soon as he saw who it was.

‘Hey, baby, I was just thinking about you!’ he said, his voice dropping to something sweet and soft. Scott and Isaac both laughed.

‘Yeah,’ Isaac said, ‘ _We’re_ bad.’

‘Who’s that? Oh, no one important,’ Stiles answered with a wink. Scott pressed his hand to his chest and pouted.

‘Do I really mean so little to you? You’re breaking my heart here, Stilinski.’

Stiles waved a hand at him and focused on the voice on the other end of the line.

‘Nah, it’s Scott. I may have mentioned him once or twice.’

Derek laughed on the other end.

_‘Yeah, maybe once or twice,’_ he said. Stiles grinned.

‘You free today? I want you to meet him!’

_‘Always free for you, baby.’_

Scott turned to Isaac and laughed, ‘They’re both just as gross as each other.’

Isaac flashed a grin in return, but he quickly turned back to Stiles with his eyebrow raised.

‘Awesome, come round to mine whenever you can?’

_‘I’ll be there in ten.’_

‘Awesome,’ Stiles said, hanging up and shoving his phone back into his pocket and turning back to Scott and his boyfriend.

‘What exactly did you say that your mysterious older man was called, Stiles?’

‘Derek?’ Stiles said, his voice full of uncertainty. Isaac nodded.

‘Yeah, but, Derek _what_?’

‘Hale? I don’t see why this important.’

‘No reason,’ Isaac said as Scott burst out.

‘Derek Hale? Like, _the_ Derek Hale? Brooding tragic hero and w–’

Isaac elbowed Scott sharply in the ribs and he promptly shut up. Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘Yeah, that Derek Hale.’

‘Holy shit,’ Scott replied. Isaac let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes.

‘Anywhere I can put these bags down? They’re killing my shoulders.’

Stiles waved towards the house. ‘Yeah, sure, sorry, make yourselves at home.’

Isaac made his way towards the house, Scott and Stiles following after him, bumping shoulders and grinning widely at each other. Isaac dumped the bags at the end of the couch and perched on the edge. Scott flopped down next to Isaac and pulled at his arm until he relaxed. Stiles smiled down at him, reaching out to poke Scott’s cheek.

‘I missed you, dude.’

‘Missed you too, Stiles,’ Scott said, grabbing Stiles’ arm and pulling him down onto the couch, half-sprawled over his lap. Stiles laughed and rested his head against Scott’s shoulder. He glanced at Isaac and glared half-heartedly.

‘You better be treating my boy good,’ he said. Isaac let out a short bark of laughter.

‘The best.’

‘You better be, because of not then I’ll fight you.’

‘I’d like to see you try,’ Isaac laughed again. Stiles glared at him again.

‘Boys, no fighting over me,’ Scott added with a grin, squeezing Isaac’s shoulder and rolling Stiles’ off of his lap. Stiles jumped up when he heard a knock at the door, rushing to open it and wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck.

‘Hey, baby,’ Derek said warmly, pressing his hands to Stiles’ back and nuzzling against his neck. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m awesome, Der,’ Stiles said with a grin as he pulled away from Derek slightly. ‘Scott got back early! I can’t wait for you to meet him!’

‘I know you can’t, sweetheart, I can’t wait to meet him either.’

Stiles grinned and grabbed Derek’s hand, dragging him into the lounge. Scott and Isaac were just dropping back onto the couch as the door opened, trying and failing to look innocent.

‘Idiots,’ Stiles laughed as he pulled Derek into the room behind him. ‘This is my boyfriend, Derek Hale. Derek, that idiot is my best friend and the other one is boyfriend.’

‘Hi Derek!’ Isaac said with a grin, waving from his spot on the couch.

‘Hello Isaac,’ Derek replied. Stiles whirled around to face him.

‘Wait? You two _know_ each other?’

Isaac laughed, ‘Yep. Not for very long but yeah. That’s why I asked when you said his name was Derek.’

‘Derek?’ Stiles asked. Derek shrugged.

‘I didn’t realise that it was him.’

‘Yeah, okay, but _how_ do you know each other?’ Stiles asked, his eyes wide as he nodded towards Isaac.

‘Peter,’ Derek said, his voice full of suggestion. Stiles’ eyes widened even further as Derek nodded. Stiles glanced between the two of them. Derek furrowed his brow and shook his head momentarily.

‘I wouldn’t,’ Stiles whispered, squeezing Derek’s hand and pulling him over to sit down on the couch. Curling against him, he nodded between Derek and Scott.

‘Derek, Scott. Scott, Derek.’

Derek reached out a hand to shake Scott’s, nodding politely.

‘How’s college going for you? Stiles said that you’re a vet student?’

Scott grinned and launched into a story about a dog that barked at everyone but him, so he’d named him Stiles. Derek let out a short laugh as Stiles pouted.

‘I like other people!’ he said grumpily, ‘I like Derek.’

He glanced over at Derek who was still laughing at Scott’s story.

‘Well,’ he added, ‘I _used_ to like Derek.’

Derek squeezed Stiles against him and pressed a quick kiss to his temple. Stiles blushed.

‘Nah, see,’ Derek said with a soft smile, ‘You still like me.’

 

***

 

Scott grabbed his arm as soon as they’d said goodbye to Derek, dragging him into the downstairs bathroom. Stiles looked at him incredulously.

‘What the shit, dude?’ he laughed.

‘I have to tell you something,’ Scott said seriously. Stiles raised an eyebrow and waved for him to continue. ‘You probably won’t believe me, but I still have to tell you. Isaac told me not to, but you’re my best friend and you deserve to know.’

_Oh god,_ Stiles thought, _It’s that Derek’s a werewolf. This is hilarious._

‘Okay, go on,’ Stiles replied, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. He obviously failed because Scott shot him an attempt at a glare.

‘Stiles, please, I need you to take this seriously.’

‘Sorry, sorry, I am, I promise.’

‘Okay, here goes nothing,’ Scott said, taking a deep breath, ‘I know that it sounds completely insane and I’ll completely get it if you don’t believe me, but I promise that it’s true. I’m not making it up even though it’ll sound like I am. You have to trust me, Stiles. Derek is – Derek’s a – I’m sorry. I don’t know how to saw it. Stiles, your boyfriend’s a – he’s a –’

‘A werewolf,’ Stiles finished, ‘I know.’

‘No, he’s a were-, wait, how did you know?’

Stiles let out a short laugh.

‘He told me.’

Scott stared at him, his mouth falling open.

‘Well,’ Stiles shrugged, ‘I guess that actually, I kind of worked it out and then he just confirmed it. But yeah, werewolf. I know.’

‘How did you _work it out_?’ Scott asked, his voice rising in pitch at the end.

Stiles shrugged again. ‘You know me, Scotty, I love research. I just kinda, did.’

‘Only you, Stilinski,’ Scott said as he pushed the door open, shaking his head. ‘Only you.’


End file.
